My Love & Mistakes
by theausllydoctor
Summary: Leah, Austin Moon's little sister, is 14 and in love for the first time since breaking up with her abusive boyfriend. Not just with anyone, but her big brother's childhood friend Dez Wade. Will Leah come clean about how she feels? And if she does, how will her big brother Austin and the rest of their family react?
1. Chapter 1

**LEAH:**

My name was Leah Moon. I was fourteen years old and I was a freshman at Marino High School. I don't like to brag about myself, but I did very well in school. I graduated middle school with a 4.0 grade point average and despite being only in the ninth grade, I was already in AP and honors classes. My teachers all would say things about me like,

"You're so successful, Leah. You must want to follow in your older brother's footsteps one day."

If you're wondering who my big brother was, my big brother was Austin Moon. That's right. _The_ Austin Moon. The popstar, record entrepreneur, male model and producer of one of the most successful TV shows in Miami, _America's Top Talent_ , who was well-off, successful, popular and attractive with people of all ages. No, I wanted to be a pediatrician when I grew up.

You see, the summer before eighth grade, I did community service at the Children's Hospital of Miami. I really enjoyed it and decided I wanted to do it someday, plus there were many children who had horrible diseases that were either too hard to treat or cure, and I wanted to change that. Having that said, I loved Austin and his music and I looked up to him. Of course, I was proud of him for his money, popularity and success, I loved him because he was good-natured, caring and fun to hang out with. Even though he moved out six years ago to live with his songwriter and longtime sweetheart, Ally Dawson (now Ally Moon because they had just gotten married three months ago) and we were ten years apart, he didn't live far from home and we still shared a good brother-sister relationship.

I loved Ally and looked up to her the same way I did my big brother. Of course, she was a successful, talented, rich, popular singer-songwriter, makeup, perfume and fashion model and mogul and co-owned my brother's record label, Moon Records, and she was very beautiful, but why I truly loved Ally was because she was very sweet, caring, thoughtful, fun to hang out with, smart, friendly and optimistic. I had just as close a relationship with my sister-in-law as I did my brother. They lived in a cozy, comfortable and calm house (they were rich, but they weren't stereotypical rich people) and had just adopted a cavapoo puppy named Gabby and she was the cutest thing I had ever seen. But my sister-in-law and brother weren't the the only people I was close to.

I was close to my parents, Mike and Mimi Moon. They owned a kind of cheesy king and queen themed mattress store called Moon's Mattress Kingdom. They used to try to pressure Austin into working there when he was my age and older and call him a "prince", but eventually they learned he wanted to make music, and learned that they couldn't keep him from his dream. They even tried to get me to join a few times, and they called me their "princess" (well, I wasn't going to get mad at them for that because they had been calling me that since I was a baby), but they also realized I had a dream of medicine, and my maternal grandmother, Thelma (who my brother and I called Nana), told me that I was following in her footsteps, even though she used to be a gynecologist but retired seven years ago, and I wanted to be a pediatrician, but still, we both had had dreams of medicine.

I had my best friend since I was three years old. Her name was Summer Alvarez-Evans (She was biracial, being mexican on her mom's side and being white on her dad's side). Summer was a cool, confident, funny, optimistic, strong, sarcastic and opinionated girl who loved fashion and art more than anything. My sister-in-law told me that Summer reminded her of her childhood friend, Trish De La Rosa, except she didn't constantly get fired. I wasn't going to argue with Ally. Trish was a lot like Summer, except Summer was a little less loud than Trish and didn't have a reputation from being fired from jobs, and Trish was full mexican, Summer was half-mexican. They also both were snarky sometimes, but they did have sweet, caring and thoughtful sides to them, and they were always there for their friends when they needed them.

They had finally met at my brother's engagement party six months ago and hit it off. Anyway, Summer had been there for me since the day we'd become best friends. She was always there when I needed her. Like right now, I needed her because my boyfriend, Kevin Thomas, who I had been dating for six months now, had been physically and verbally abusing me for the past four months. For the first two months, he acted like an actual boyfriend, but two months later, he wanted to have sex, and I told him I wasn't ready, and he tried to force me.

Ever since, he called me an array of horrible names like "ho," "slut," "skank," "whore," "bitch" and even the ones I don't want to repeat, he would shame and demean me for the outfits I was wearing to school, he had tried to force me to have sex with him, made me accountable for my whereabouts, constantly screamed at me, even when I made the smallest mistakes, and tried to dictate who I saw and hung out with. Plus, it wasn't that appropriate for me to be dating him right now because he was nineteen (he was repeating his senior year because he was a heroin, smoking and alcohol addict, he was suspended a lot for bullying other students and using drugs on campus, and he had grades that were so bad you could write blues songs about them) and I was fourteen. So, I guess, technically, he was a pedophile. My parents, Austin, Ally, Trish, Austin's childhood friend Dez Wade and Summer were all telling me the same thing- leave him. They were right. Why stay in a relationship that's not good for you?

I was also sick and tired of crying myself to sleep, living in fear of him and feeling emotionally numb and helpless. But there was one small problem- I was afraid of how he would react. But no- the last thing I wanted to do was let something as stupid as fear stop me from standing up to myself. I decided that day would be today. I approached Summer at her locker, where she was putting on cotton candy lip gloss and staring into the mirror on her locker.

"Summer-"

I started to say.

She jumped a little bit as she dropped her lip gloss and turned to me.

"Leah! You scared the hell out of me!"

Summer, despite her very religious catholic upbringing (Mrs. Alvarez was a pastor and both her and Mr. Evans were brought up extremely catholic), used the word hell a lot.

"Sorry. I just wanted to tell you that I planned on doing it today."

"Do what today?"

"Breaking up with Kevin."

Summer smiled at me and tossed her long, wavy dark chocolate colored hair which was tied in a messy side ponytail.

"Oh my god. What made you cave in?"

"I realized that I shouldn't let fear stop me from doing what I can do for myself."

"Good for you!"

She hugged me and I hugged her back.

"If you need me to kick that son of a bitch's ass, you know who to call."

I said,

"Thanks, Summer, but I think I can deal with Kevin myself."

"OK, well, still, I'm here for you."

I hugged her again. I looked for Kevin in the halls. As usual, he was bullying some kid by pinning him against a locker. The kid looked really scared and I said,

"Let him go, Kevin."

He let the kid go and the boy said to me,

"Bless your heart."

Kevin grabbed me by my shirt, pinned me against a locker and said to me,

"Why the hell are you telling me what to do, you little whore? I will freaking beat you to a pulp, slut!"

He then punched me very hard in the face. All of a sudden, I could barely breathe and I collapsed on the floor. A while later, I found myself in the nurse's office, lying on a cot, with the school nurse, Ms. Ansell, standing over me.

I asked,

"Where-where am I?"

Ms. Ansell came back with a red solo cup of water.

"You're in the nurse's office. Summer brought you here and she said she saw you lying on the ground unconscious by the lockers."

I took a sip of the water and looked at myself in the mirror. My left eye had a good bruise on it.

Ms. Ansell sat beside me.

"Leah, what exactly happened that made you black out?"

I wanted to lie, but lying about your problems doesn't solve anything.

"Kevin Thomas slammed me against a locker and punched me very hard in the face, last I remember. Please don't tell anyone."

She sighed,

"Honey, I wish you would open up, but if you don't want me to tell anyone, you have my word."

"Thanks."

I walked home and went to my bedroom. I sat in front of my vanity and put concealer over my shiner. I eventually sat down with my parents to have dinner. My dad was pouring my mom a glass of red wine.

He said to me,

"Hey, princess."

I smiled sadly and sighed.

"Hey, dad."

My mom looked concerned.

"Leah, is everything OK?"

"Everything's fine,"

I lied.

I had every intention in the world of saying, _No, Mom. I'm not fine. I broke up with Kevin and he physically assaulted me._ But I couldn't. I knew that if I told my parents something like this, they would stick Kevin in front of a trial or something. Just the whole thing sounded so unpleasant to me. But having that said, I couldn't hold inside how I felt.

That would only lead to worse problems. I made a plan. My brother told me I was always welcome to talk to him. So in the morning, I decided to talk to him and Ally about it. Because I was hurting and needed my family right now.


	2. Chapter 2

**AUSTIN:**

I felt a lick on my face and pawing on my chest. I was sure it was the woman I married.

I laughed,

"Ally, stop it!"

Ally laughed and said in her sleep,

"Austin, it's not me."

I opened my eyes. It wasn't Ally who was licking me and pawing at me. It was our adorable little puppy, Gabby. She seemed to be in a better mood than she was yesterday. We had to take her to the vet to get her vaccinated (ten shots!) because she was only two months old and you never know what kind of disease your puppy could be capable of contracting.

She definitely wasn't too happy about it, but clearly she seemed to be in a better mood now. I gasped and said,

"Hello, monster!"

She licked my face as I held her close and scratched her tummy. I kissed her face. She was such a sweet and adorable little puppy. Ally sat up and I cooed,

"Look who wanted to say Good Morning!"

Ally cooed,

"Good morning, babycakes!"

Ally gently took Gabby and whispered,

"Hi. Hi, sweetie. Hi. Hi,"

and kissed her cheek and scratched her head and back. Our puppy gave my wife a huge kiss on her cheek. Gabby eventually walked between us, giving me just the right amount of room to cuddle my wife and her at the same time. I whispered,

"Good morning, beautiful,"

I said to my wife.

She smiled at me,

"Good morning, handsome."

She planted a kiss on my cheek and I planted one on her cheek. I heard my cell phone go off. I was getting a text message from my little sister Leah. Ever since she told me about how her boyfriend had started to abuse her, I was worried sick about her. I loved Leah and I cared about her a lot.

I was glad my sister wasn't requesting to FaceTime because I was wearing only my boxers and Ally was wearing only a spaghetti strap chemise. message to me said,

"Hey, Austin, are you and Ally busy today?"

I texted,

"Well, Ally and I are going to Trish and Jace's baby's baptism tonight, because she's making us the godparents. Is everything OK?"

She texted,

"I kind of had a rough breakup with Kevin."

I texted,

"Yeah, of course. Do you want us to give you anything?"

Leah texted,

"Sure."

My little sister wasn't picky when it came to food. Ever since she was a baby, she'd eat anything. She did sometimes spit up on me when she was a baby, but even then I loved her. Anyway, I grabbed my clothes and Ally grabbed hers so we could get in the shower together (Yes, we were married and we showered together sometimes. We both loved our moments together, whether those activities were intimate or not. Even if it was just drinking wine, eating takeout comfort food and just chilling in front of the TV watching movies from our childhood, having our personal favorites be Disney movies and the _Peanuts_ series.)

After getting out of the shower, Ally was wearing only her hot pink bathrobe and I was wearing only a towel as she was running a wide toothed comb through her wet hair. I asked her,

"Sweetie, sorry it's kind of short notice, but I invited my sister over to have breakfast with us. Is that OK?"

Ally smiled at me.

"With everything Leah's going through right now, of course she can come over. Austin, you're a good big brother."

I got dressed in a wifebeater and layered it with a green hoodie, ripped jeans and white nike high tops. I could hear Gabby's stomach growling and she gave me her puppy dog eyes.

I said,

"You hungry, babycakes? It's OK, let's go get you some food."

I picked her up and walked down to the kitchen and filled Gabi's bowls with water and Beneful. I saw my wife sitting at our kitchen table, drinking a cup of coffee with half and half and reading the latest issue of _Cosmopolitan_. She was wearing a gray cardigan, a purple tank top, dark blue skinny jeans and beige mukluk slipper boots I had bought her for Christmas last year.

"What do you want for breakfast, Ally?"

I asked her.

"I've been having a craving for french toast lately."

"I like French Toast. Not as much as pancakes, but it's still good."

"I'm going to go cut up some fruits and then take Gabby out to do her business."

Ally cut up some strawberries and mixed them with blueberries and took Gabby and a small bag that people use to pick up their pets' excrement. I saw her come back inside with Gabi in five minutes and she threw out the bag and washed her hands. After the french toast was done, I saw Ally get four plates, three glasses, three napkins, three forks, three knifes and a bottle of maple syrup. I heard the doorbell ring. Ally said,

"I'll get it."

I knew who it was. It was my sister. She sure as hell wasn't going to heal from her breakup with Kevin overnight. Things like this took time. I felt sorry for her and I was definitely willing to help her heal.

I mean, Ally and I remembered Trish going through a rough time like this in high school. We were about seventeen years old, and there was this douchebag named Brad who had a crush on her, and Ally, Dez and I thought he was a good guy, too. But it turned out that Brad was a twenty-five-year-old sex offender posing as a teenager, and for like two weeks, he was nice to her. But he turned into a douchebag when he asked Trish if she wanted to have sex with him, and she turned him down. He started stalking her, he raped her at least five times and tried to coerce her to send pictures of herself naked to him.

It was horrible. She was terrified and crying for weeks. She filed a restraining order against him, but he violated it. He kept stalking her, attempting to get her to sext him and trying to rape her. But her now boyfriend Jace Dillon was the one who saved her, got Brad arrested (he had lots of counts of statutory rape) and the two had been happily dating ever since and had a seven-week-old baby girl named Isabella, whose baptism Ally and I were going to tonight, because they were making us the godparents. In the meantime, I didn't want my sister going through the same.


	3. Chapter 3

**LEAH:**

Ally opened the door. I had never been happier to see my sister-in-law. I needed her and my brother a lot right now. Ally gave me a kind smile.

"Hi, Leah."

I smiled sadly.

"Hey, Ally."

"Austin told me that your breakup with Kevin didn't go so well. Are you OK?"

I sighed and walked in. Ally closed the door.

"Not really."

"Do you need a hug?"

"More than ever, right now."

She warmly wrapped her arms around me and I wrapped mine around her. I saw Gabby trotting toward me and she barked. I said,

"Hi, Gabby!"

I picked her up and she licked my face. I cooed,

"Aren't you a cute puppy? Yes, you are. Yes, you are."

I put her down and she ran around and started chasing her tail. I walked in the kitchen with Ally, where my brother was cooking breakfast. He said to me,

"Hey, Leah."

I said,

"Hey, Austin."

He locked me into a big bear hug. Ally came back and the three of us sat down to eat. Austin took a sip of his juice and asked,

"Leah, are you OK?"

I sighed.

"After yesterday, no, not really."

"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly happened?"

I took a bite of my french toast, chewed it and swallowed it.

"Yesterday, I told Kevin we were over and that I didn't like the way he treated me, and he held me by my neck against a locker and called me names and threatened me."

Austin seemed outraged.

"Oh my god,"

He started to say with food in his mouth. He started to chew and swallow and he wiped his mouth.

"That's awful."

"That's not the only thing he's done to me. A few months ago, he tried to force me to have sex with him."

Ally looked concerned.

"That's not OK, Leah. Your parents have to know about that."

My sister-in-law was one hundred percent right. Kevin was obviously making me feel unsafe and anxious and the worst thing I could do was isolate with it.

I said,

"You're right, Ally. I've just been afraid of how they'll react."

Austin shoved an amount of berries onto his fork with his knife and chewed, swallowed and wiped his mouth.

"Never worry about how they'll react. As a matter of fact, all they want to do is help you. Look, Leah, you don't have to tell our parents alone if you don't want to. I'll tell them with you."

"Austin, you'd do that for me?"

My brother put his hand on mine.

"Leah, you're my baby sister. You're one of the people I care about most."

"Thanks, Austin. I love you."

I hugged him and he hugged me back and gave me a kiss on the top of my head.

"I love you too."

Right now, I wanted to cry. Austin was the best brother ever. Ally was smiling and wiped her eye.

I laughed and wiped my eye.

"Ally, are you crying?"

"Of course not. I just love the relationship between you and your brother. You know, I never had any siblings. The best part of that is having people to be there for you through tough times."

I felt sorry for Ally.

"Well, Ally, to me, technically I'm your sister. Because I'm your sister-in-law."

She laughed.

"I guess that's true."

I hugged my sister-in-law. I felt pawing on my leg. It was Gabby. She was giving me her puppy dog eyes that were so adorable and she looked like she wanted food. I said,

"Sorry, Gabby. This isn't dog food."

She walked over to find Austin and he picked her up. He cradled her in his arms and scratched her belly.

"Gabby is such a cute puppy."

"I know, right?"

Gabby, a pep talk with my brother and sister-in-law and having breakfast with them? I was starting to feel better already. But I needed to tell Mom and Dad about Kevin assaulting me. The chances of them pressing charges against him were pretty good, and someone as violent as him, if he found out that I was pressing charges, he could hurt me. But Austin said never to worry about Mom and Dad's reaction, just think about what was right for me, and he was right.

I heard my brother say,

"Sweetie, I'm going to bring Leah home to talk to our parents."

Ally said to him,

"That's fine. I have to visit my mother in the hospital, anyway."

"Ally, is your mom alright?"

Ally said,

"Yeah, my mom is fine. She's been in the hospital having diverticulitis surgery."

My brother turned to his wife.

"Give your mom my regards. I'm sorry I can't be there with her."

Ally smiled to him.

"Of course."

I heard the doorbell ring.

"Who's that?"

"Our dogwalker for Gabby. I'll be right back."

I saw him grab a small bag and pick Gabby up and come to the door. I heard him say,

"I'll leave the door unlocked and I'll give you your money now. My wife is visiting her mom at the hospital and I have to take my younger sister to talk to our parents."

I heard a male african-american voice say,

"Sure. Thanks."

"Can you also take care of Gabi until Ally or I get back?"

"Of course."

"Thanks."

I heard him say in a baby voice,

"Daddy will be back soon. I love you. Mwah."

He walked back over.

"Hon, how are you going to visit your mom? Do you want a ride?"

"Sure."

"Let's go, sis!"

My brother said. He walked over to the burglar alarm by his front door and pushed several buttons. I couldn't help but stare at the picture beside it. It was of Austin and Ally on their wedding day three months ago and they were kissing very passionately. I would never forget that day. Not just because Ally made me a bridesmaid in her wedding, but because I was happy for them that they were going to spend the rest of their lives together.

I told him,

"I love that day."

He put his arm around me.

"Me too. That was the day I married the woman I love most."

When he pulled up in front of the hospital, my brother told his wife,

"Again, I'm sorry I can't be there for your mom. I wish her well."

"It's totally fine, Austin. You want to be there for your sister right now, and my mom is a very understanding person. Plus, you've gone every other day this week. You can let one day slide."

He smiled.

"See you later, my queen."

"Until then, hubby."

They kissed and Ally climbed from his car and we drove to my house. I felt like crying because I was worried about how my parents would react. I was blinking back tears.

"Austin, I'm nervous."

"It's OK. I'm here to tell Mom and Dad with you."


	4. Chapter 4

**AUSTIN:**

Poor Leah. She clung to me and I hugged her back and gave her a kiss on the side of her head and caressed the other side of her head.

"It's OK. I'm here."

I held Leah's hand to let her know I was there for her. That seemed to make her feel better. Which I wanted because Leah was my baby sister and I cared about her and hated that she was so unhappy right now. I rang the doorbell. Our dad answered.

"Hey, son."

He hugged me. He turned to my sister.

"Leah, where were you? Your mother and I were beside ourselves with worry."

Leah looked at him meekly.

"I'm sorry, Dad. I should have told you and Mom where I would be."

"At least I know you're safe, Pumpkin."

I said,

"She was with Ally and I, Dad. She has something she needs to talk to you and Mom about and she didn't want to do it alone."

My dad patted my back.

"You're a good brother."

My mom saw me.

"Hey, son!"

We hugged and she hugged.

"Hey, Mom."

She gave me a kiss on my forehead. She hugged my sister tightly.

"Thank god you knew where your sister was. Your father and I were very frantic."

"Ally and I fed her. Can you and Dad come into the living room? Leah has something to tell you two and wanted me to be there too."

My mom smiled.

"Sure. Hey, Mike, can you sit in the living room with me? Austin says Leah has something she needs to talk about."

My parents sat beside each other on the couch and Leah sat across from them in an armchair and I sat in the one next to her.

"And I decided, no one leaves, until we all agree on how to handle this."

My dad said,

"Alright, that sounds fair enough. But that doesn't explain what Leah needs to tell us."

My sister said nervously,

"It's about Kevin."

My mom looked at her daughter.

"Honey, we've told you many times. If the relationship is not meant for you, just leave him."

I looked at my parents.

"This is hard for her to say, so just let her talk."

"I did break up with Kevin. But it didn't go so well. He called me…. he called me a slut and a whore, he threatened to beat me, he held me against a row of lockers, punched me in the face and strangled me so hard I fell unconscious."

My dad looked concerned.

"That's terrible, honey!"

She said,

"That's not the only thing he's done that's so outrageously horrible. He raped me."

My mom asked,

"Sweetie, why on earth would you hide this from us?"

She started crying again.

"Forget it. I shouldn't have told you."

She walked away, sobbing. I felt worse and worse for her.

My dad protested,

"Leah-"

I said,

"No, Dad. Let her go. She clearly needs a few minutes."

My mom turned to me.

"Why would she keep something like this from us?"

"There's more. She told Ally and I that Kevin smokes, drinks and does heroin, and he told her that he even tried to make her do it with him."

My dad seemed outraged.

"Don't tell me she did heroin with him!"

"I asked her if she did heroin with him, and she said no, and she seemed to be telling the truth."

My mom was still concerned.

"Austin, I'm glad she's reaching out, but why wouldn't she tell us these things herself?"

I said,

"She was afraid of how you guys would react."

My dad looked at my mom. He told her,

"We've always told her that she can always come to us."

My mom looked at me.

"Same goes for you, Austin."

I smiled.

"Thanks. I might have a great life- I'm rich, I'm successful, I'm married to a woman who's just as stunning inside as she is on the outside, I have great friends and I have the most adorable pet imaginable, but that doesn't mean I don't need my family every now and then."

I hugged my dad and my mom. My dad patted my back.

"We're the ones who helped plan your engagement party and your wedding."

My mom smiled.

"May your marriage with Ally be like the one between your father and I."


	5. Chapter 5

**LEAH:**

I was in my room, curled up and crying. I felt a knock on my door. I wiped my eyes, and stopping my sobs, I said,

"Come in."

My mom walked in, clutching a washcloth.

"Sweetie, can I talk to you?"

"Sure."

She dabbed at my face with the washcloth. The way warm water felt on your face when you were crying, I liked it. But it didn't quite wash away my pain. My mom put her arm around me as I put my head on her shoulder. She kissed my temple and said to me,

"I know it hurts. Before I met your father, I went through an abusive relationship, too. I shut my mom and my sisters out, but just because I did that, doesn't mean I want you to isolate with it."

I sniffled and wiped my eyes on the back of my hand.

"I'm just scared for my life."

Mom said to me,

"I know, Leah. I felt the same way too when my old boyfriend abused me."

I wept onto her shoulder and she kissed me on my forehead.

"I'm sorry, honey, but I think we need to prosecute Kevin. Because he's an adult, you're a minor, and what he did to you is against the law."

I thought when I heard those words from her mouth, I would feel worse. But I actually gained some hope, because I thought that maybe filing a restraining order against my ex-boyfriend might make me feel safer. My mom was right. Kevin was an adult, I was a minor. He was obviously making me feel unsafe.

I tightly clung to her and she kissed my forehead.

"Come on, Leah."

I went downstairs, where my brother and father were. I tightly hugged them each. I was so grateful to have my family and my best friend to stand by me during this difficult time. Later that day, after my brother left, I called him on FaceTime.

"Hey, Leah. Sorry I can't talk long. Ally and I have Isabella's christening tonight."

Isabella was the name of Trish and Jace's new baby. I had only seen pictures of her on Facebook and Instagram, but she was a really beautiful seven-week-old baby. And my brother and sister-in-law were going to be her godparents. My brother was wearing a suit that consisted of a black blazer, a light blue dress shirt, a bright blue necktie, black slacks and black dress shoes.

"Looking good, Austin!"

Austin smiles,

"Awww, thanks, Leah!"

He looked the other way and gasped,

"Oh my god. You look beautiful, sweetheart."

"Well, if I look beautiful, you look handsome."

Ally walked over to caress my brother and they kissed. Austin was speaking the truth. She did look beautiful. She was wearing a black cap sleeved knee long dress (Ally was a rich girl, so she had a ton of really beautiful dresses) black pumps, a gold necklace inspired by _Downton Abbey_ (which was one of my mom's favorite TV shows and I had even watched a few episodes with her and it was actually a good show), her hair was in a bun with some strands of her curly hair loose in the front and she was wearing just the right amount of makeup.

"Ally, you look gorgeous."

I said.

"Aw, thank you, Leah! How are you doing?"

I smiled.

"Much better. And I want to thank you for standing by me during this tough time."

A warm smile spread across my sister-in-law's face, which made her look even more beautiful.

"That's what family's all about. Someday, you're going to find the guy who appreciates how smart, sweet and beautiful you are. Someday your prince will come."

I blushed. Ally was definitely as sweet as honey, and that was my favorite part of her.

"Awww, that's so sweet, Ally."

Austin kissed his wife's cheek. I could hear some license tags jingling and some yapping. It was Gabby. Ally kept saying in a baby voice,

"Come here, come here."

She picked her up and started to kiss Gabby rapidly.

"Who's mommy's snuggly little baby?"

Gabby was rapidly kissing my sister-in-law.

"Gabby is the cutest puppy ever!"

Ally smiles.

"I know! We love our little sweetie so much."

She turned to my brother.

"Austin, you fed her and took her out to do her business, right?"

Austin says compliantly,

"Yes, ma'am."

Gabby immediately started to yawn and her eyelids started to droop.

"I think someone's getting sleepy. Time for bed."

Ally walked off, clutching their adorable puppy in her arms.

"There are times when Ally and I come home, and Gabby will be at the door waiting for us, and she barks and jumps up and down."

I smiled.

"You know that totally reminds me of how I was with Mom and Dad when I was little."

Austin laughed.

"Oh my god, I remember that! You would always wear your Disney Princess costumes that Grandma and Grandpa would send you, it would alter between Aurora, Belle and Cinderella, and you would say, Mommy, Daddy, I'm ready for Moon's Mattress Kingdom!"

I laughed.

"I think I made their business more popular."

"Hell, yeah! Mom and Dad made you a model for their store because you've always been their little princess."

When I was a little kid, I was preoccupied with Disney Princess and Disney Fairies. I had been to Disneyworld in Orlando many times. When we were about four, my mom, Summer and her mom all went there, and we got huge discounts because my mom's sister and Austin's and my Aunt Rachel was the manager of the hotels, and we would often go with our parents and hang out with Aunt Rachel's family, her husband and our uncle Ian, and her three children, Kelly who was twenty-two now, Sarah who was nineteen now and Brendan who was fifteen now. The five of us had the best times together. Well, actually, nine if you counted our parents, too.

During dinner, my mom took a sip of her white wine and then she turned to me.

"Leah, I called the court today, and they filed a restraining order. If Kevin goes within one hundred feet of you, or contacts you, he will be arrested."

"That's amazing, Mom! I feel safer already!"

I hugged her and she kissed my cheek and my dad put his hand on my shoulder.

"Well, Pumpkin, that's what we're here for."

"Ally said the exact same thing earlier. I called Austin and her on FaceTime to thank them for helping me."


	6. Chapter 6

**LEAH:**

If I said I wasn't nervous about the court hearing, I would be lying. I was very nervous. I needed something to take my mind off it. I saw Summer sitting on the floor below her locker, writing with a black pen in her pink notebook with pink flowers and a female head with calavera (Which Summer told me was spanish for skull) makeup and flowers in her hair. Summer totally embraced her mexican heritage (Her mom's family always celebrated Dia de los muertos, or day of the dead, and Cinco de mayo with huge parties that she always invited me to). After all, it was in her blood.

And as usual, she had gone out all out dressing for school. She was wearing a black sleeveless high-low top with black studs and a silver metallic gargoyle holding two candles and it said Foolish Mortal in metallic silver and black (if there was something my best friend Summer Alvarez-Evans loved besides fashion and art, she loved haunted houses at amusement parks and horror movies.), purple skinny jeans, black converse, silver diamond Mickey Mouse stud earrings, and her wavy hair was in a half ponytail. She looked up as she saw me and a big smile washed over her face.

"Hey, my blonde bestie!"

I said,

"Hey, Summer!"

"How have you been holding up?"

"Better, since Friday. Kevin, me and our parents will be in court tomorrow because Mom and Dad think I should get a restraining order against him."

Summer put her pen and notebook down. She said,

"That's a good idea. But you don't sound very happy about it."

I sighed and said,

"I'm torn because I'll feel safer, but I'm nervous about if he'll violate it and do worse than what he's already done to me."

"Leah, your life could be at stake here. Kevin held you against a row of lockers, gave you a black eye and strangled you so hard you blacked out. He called you names that people use toward hookers and almost violated you for christ's sakes. He makes you feel really unsafe and you and your parents have gotta do whatever you can to protect yourself."

I said,

"You're right, Summer."

She whispered,

"Although on the other hand, you remember my cousin Angelica?"

I asked,

"She's the one who graduated from law school a year early, right?"

"Yeah. Anyway, five years ago, she was in an abusive relationship, and she filed a restraining order against the douchebag, but he violated it and she didn't feel safer. He got arrested, but she didn't feel safe again until my dad sent her a taser gun."

"Wow. She felt that unsafe that her uncle got her a taser gun?"

"Yep."

Mr. Evans was a police officer for a living. It fit him perfectly because he was tough (but when he wasn't at work, he was softer, warmer and more loving, a lot like Stef Foster on _The Fosters_ , a drama series that my brother used to watch), and not to sound like I supported stereotypes, but he was from Brooklyn in New York, where also Austin's and my paternal grandparents and where our Uncle Scott were born (My dad said that Uncle Scott and our grandparents moved to Stafford, Connecticut when my grandma was four months pregnant with our Uncle Brett and when my Uncle Scott was two, and his, Uncle Scott, Uncle Brett and our Uncle Tim all grew up in Connecticut).

"So, what were you doing when I walked over here?"

Summer smiled.

"Planning my Quinceañera. I'm so excited!"

I said,

"Oh, yeah! You said you were talking about it with your parents. I'm so happy for you."

"It's a big tradition in my mom's family. My great grandma, my grandma, my aunts, my sister and my girl cousins. It's so exciting! I'll be a kidult."

Unlike me, Summer was the middle kid in her family. She had a younger brother, Matthew, who had just turned twelve, and she had an older sister, Daniella, who was seventeen.

"I thought once they were fifteen in mexican culture, women were considered adults then."

"It is. But I'm half-mexican, half-white, so I'll be a kidult."

I said.

"Oh. That makes a lot of sense."

Summer said to me,

"Anyway, you want to help me plan? Oh, sorry, if you're ready. I wasn't trying to sound insensitive."

I said,

"No, it's fine, Summer. A, you're my best friend, of course I want to help you plan one of the biggest events of your life, and B, I really could use a distraction, and helping you plan your quince might be the way to do it."

Summer smiled,

"Great!"

She pulled out her phone- a gold iPhone 5s with a pink case with a bunch of quotes from that movie _Mean Girls_ (Austin loved that movie and said that it was a favorite of him and Ally's. I even thought it was kind of funny) showed me a picture of a dress she had seen when window-shopping over the weekend. It was a big, puffy, strapless gown with a sweetheart top with jeweling on the top, in a shade of blue that I liked to call "Cinderella blue", because the shade of blue really reminded me of her dress she wore in the movie from the fifties, and it also reminded me of Ally's wedding dress, except obviously hers was white, and this was for a quince, not a wedding, and right now, the only thing the two had in common was I was going to be maids in them both. When I was a kid, I was obsessed with her. My grandparents sent me a little Cinderella costume for my third birthday, and I wore it three halloweens in a row. I loved all "Disney Princess" movies, I was kind of a child at heart, and my all-time favorite Disney movie and princess had been Cinderella.

"It kind of reminds me of Ally's wedding dress. I was a bridesmaid in that wedding."

Summer laughed.

"I know you were. I saw you in your gorgeous little pink bridesmaid dress, you gorgeous little scamp!"

I smiled.

"Eh, what can I say? Pink is my favorite freakin' color!"

Summer playfully (and gently) punched me on the shoulder.

"I know, I'm your best friend. Nobody knows you like me."

"Well, duh, if you have a best friend, it's kind of required that you know everything about them."

She laughed and gave me a hopeful smile.

"Leah, will you be a maid in my court? Because I'm your best friend?"

"I'd be honored."

I hugged her.

"That's so amazing! Jasmine, as well as Quinn, Claire and Amaya, will be our maids!"

Quinn Galloway, Claire Hosterman and Amaya Rodriguez were Summer's and my friends that we had known since we were in kindergarten, and we had all gone to school together throughout eighth grade. The five of us were tight- we would have birthday parties, movie dates, mall dates, slumber parties, you name it.

"Quinn, Claire and Amaya? I haven't seen them since over the summer!

"I know! That's why I'm inviting them! I even know what I want the gowns for the maids to be."

She showed me a picture of a royal blue strapless dress that went up to the knees and had a sweetheart top with gorgeous jeweling on it.

"Oh my god, it's beautiful!"

She laughed.

"Which is why I chose it. It's going to look gorgeous on you and our friends!"

"I always thought you had amazing taste. Remember in kindergarten when we were choosing costumes for the spring pageant?"

"Yeah."


	7. Chapter 7

**LEAH:**

Today was the day of the trial. I couldn't stop thinking about it and it took me about two and a half hours to fall asleep. I came down to the kitchen in my pajamas. I was wide awake and yet not feeling even a little tired. I walked over to my closet and layered my short white bathrobe over my pajamas- a sky blue racerback tank top and teal pajama pants with pink flowers and a pink ribbon at the waist.

The best way to deal with anxiety was to talk to people about it. I quietly snuck into my parents' bed and waited for them to wake up. I was looking at a nine photo wall frame. In the first picture, I was three wearing some in a pink onesie with Marie from _The Aristocats_ and it said Drama Kitty on it and snuggling a stuffed polar bear that my Nana Thelma had sent me and an Olivia the pig plush toy. Another one had me when I was three and I was at Pizza Johnny's with Austin and he had his arm around me and my _Dora The Explorer_ sippy cup.

In the third slot, it had a photo of me when I was four and I was wearing my Belle costume and Austin was holding me on his hip. In the fourth slot, I was three and I was kissing Austin's lips in front of our christmas tree and he was kneeling down to my height. Mom and Dad told me that because he had given me a Snap & Dress Abby Cadabby doll and a purple toy purse with a pink flower with a green cellophane center with a toy lipstick, toy keys, a toy wallet, a toy debit card, a toy cell phone and a toy mirror. He always gave me the sweetest gifts for either my birthday or christmas.

In the fifth slot, it had me in my old Aurora costume and I was smiling a big toothy smile with my cup with Belle on it. In the sixth slot, it had my Dad holding me on his hip and I was drinking from a sippy cup with Abby Cadabby from _Sesame Street_ on it. In the seventh slot, it had me and Austin when I was four and he was fourteen, and we were cuddled up on the sofa together in our pajamas and he was holding Sergeant Bearington and I had my baby doll and my Flounder doll. In the eighth slot, it had me when I was two, and I was outside with my baby doll and an Elmo plush toy and the stroller. In the ninth and last slot, it had me when I was four, dressed up like Belle and Austin was holding me on his hip.

In another black frame below the nine slot frame, there was a picture of me with Austin and Ally at my middle school graduation holding a tan teddy bear wearing a black cap and gown that they had given me, and he was holding my diploma, that had my middle school, _Lakerose Middle School_ , it had a picture of a Griffin because our school mascot was The Griffin, and it said my full name at the top, _Leah Abigail Moon_. I remembered Austin had lifted me up and said to me,

"My baby sister's going to high school!"

A frame below that was a three slot frame. In the first slot was a photo of mom carrying a sleeping three-month-old Austin on her shoulder, the second one had him when he was a newborn, sleeping in a baby chair under a knit blanket with a stuffed bunny and the last one had him when he was about a year old standing in his crib. A frame next to that had him when he was about two in a driving a car at Chuck E. Cheese. Another one had him when he was about five, maybe six, on his bike without training wheels.

I slowly flopped onto the other side on the bed. I saw a black frame with Austin holding me in the hospital when I was born. The next frame had him feeding me a bottle when I was a baby. The last one was a photo of Austin and I at his wedding dancing together at the reception. Eventually, my parents woke up and noticed me in the middle of them.

My dad said to my mom,

"Well, this is something we haven't had in a long time."

My mom said,

"I know. Mike, do you remember when Leah was about three and she would come into our bed in the morning and bring in every stuffed animal she had with her?"

My dad chuckled.

"She had to take about six or seven trips down to her bedroom and back to make sure she had every single of them. That panda, that cat and both Mickey and Minnie."

I laughed upon reminiscing about the past and my dad tousled my hair.

"You would make our bed look like that toy store in Manhattan after an earthquake."

"I remember that. Did Austin do the same thing?"

My mom smoothed my blonde hair.

"Yes, _he did_. He would bring in Sergeant Bearington everyday when he was younger. He did that everyday until he was about nine."

I said,

"He still brought Sergeant Bearington with him when he moved out. _And_ on his honeymoon."

My dad said,

"Now all your brother cuddles with in bed is Ally."

"And Gabby."

My mom looked confused.

"Who's Gabby?"

My dad gave her a look.

"Austin and Ally adopted a puppy recently, remember? We met her on Skype."

My mom said,

"Oh right. So, sweetie, what are you doing here? Of course, not that we don't want you here. You're our daughter and we love you more than anything."

I said,

"It's about the trial. I'm nervous."

My dad said,

"Oh, honey. It's normal to be anxious about these kinds of things. But Kevin was the adult in your relationship, you're a minor, and he makes you feel unsafe and anxious. And you'd been a lot more vulnerable ever since."

He was right. I had been the vulnerable one in that relationship.

"You're right, Dad. I want to thank you and Mom for standing by me throughout this tough time."

My dad kissed me on the forehead.

"Well, Pumpkin, what else are parents for?"

My mom laughed a little bit.

"Gushing about the memories about when you were a child. In your little princess costumes saying Mommy, Daddy, I'm ready for Moon's Mattress Kingdom."

I smiled.

"Eh, what can I say? I've always been your little princess."

My dad said to me,

"Yes, Leah. Yes, you have."

My mom said to me,

"We baby you if you need it. So I'm not playing favorites, we did it to Austin to when he was your age and older."

I said,

"I feel… loved?"

My mom whispered,

"Well, I know your father's least favorite part about living with two women since your brother moved out."

My dad groaned.

"Here it comes."

I had gotten my first period six months before I turned twelve. As uncomfortable as it was, my nana, my mom, my doctor, my Aunt Rachel and my Aunt Lena told me that it was normal and that it was how I would conceive a baby some day. I hated the cramps, mood swings and sometimes I would just throw up. My dad was not exactly crazy about buying tampons and pads, but if it was to help his wife and daughter, he would do it anyway. But Mom had to buy me bras, which she was more tolerant of because of course, she and my aunts had been through that stuff with my nana.

My mom told me,

"Mike, be glad she doesn't ask you to buy her sex toys."

My dad shuddered.

"Mimi! Don't even bring that up with me."

I said,

"Yeah, mom. Too far."

My mom looked embarassed.

"Sorry. Mike, the only things we should buy her relating to sex are condoms."

My parents did give me the sex talk, and plus I was taking health at school so I knew all about sex.

My dad told me,

"We know you still want to be a virgin. But if you need condoms, just tell us, and we'll get them for you. We told Austin the same thing when he was your age."


	8. Chapter 8

**LEAH:**

I had just finished getting out of the shower and blow-drying my hair. I was in my robe as I opened my closet door, looking for an outfit to wear. A lot of my dresses were either too casual or perfect for parties, clubs or other formal events, but a little too formal for court. I dressed in a black sleeveless floral peplum top, a black knee long skirt, a pair of white high heels, a pair of gold butterfly earrings and I tied my hair up in a bun. I saw my parents in the kitchen waiting for me.

"You look very cute, Leah,"

my mom said to me.

I guess Mom thought that complimenting me on my outfit might make me feel a little better. She was right.

"Thanks, Mom."

She turned to my dad.

"She's obviously nervous."

I heard my dad say,

"I know she is, but this is what's best for her. He's making her feel unsafe and she's never been this vulnerable."

"Yeah, Mike, I know. Look, do you remember when I told you about my last boyfriend?"

I could hear my dad say,

"Yeah, I remember him. How does he have anything to do with our daughter and her abusive relationship?"

My mom said,

"When I was in college, the last guy I dated before you was nice to me for about a year, but then he started to use heroin and drink, and he would treat me horribly. He called me every swear word and then some, he would hit me, demean me, dictated who I could and couldn't see, and he forced himself onto me. My mother and my sisters would tell me, Just leave him, he's hurting you, and eventually I did, but after we broke up, the abuse got even worse. My mother put him on trial, and my boyfriend got a restraining order, but he violated it, and he went to jail."

My dad said,

"I feel like Leah and her circumstances with Kevin are heading in the same path."

My mom said,

"Me too. Except she isolated with it less than I did. I lied to my mom about it for weeks, because I was a minor, and my boyfriend was legally an adult. The only people I opened up to were Lena and Rachel, and even then they were away at college. My mother, my sisters and my friends all helped me through it. I mean, adolescence was kind of hard for me, because of how my father had passed away when I was twelve."

My grandfather on my mom's side, Arthur Tamblyn, had died in June 1986. Nana said that he had died of bladder cancer at the age of forty-seven after a four year battle with the illness. She, along with my mom, my Aunt Lena and Aunt Rachel, also said that my older brother looked liked my grandpa when they first met. Nana said her and my grandpa got married when she was twenty and when he was twenty-six, she had Aunt Lena when she was twenty-two, she had Aunt Rachel when she was twenty-five and she had my mom when she was twenty-nine. Which was a shame, because Austin and I would have really loved our maternal grandfather.

At the courthouse, I was sitting in the witness stand. My palms were sweating and my body felt like a vibrating toothbrush. I had never been so nervous in my whole life. Thank god my parents were by my side throughout this tough time- in fact, not just my parents, my brother, my sister-in-law, Dez, who'd always been an older brother figure to me (In a way, Dez was kind of like my brother, too, because he had been Austin's best friend since they were five years old and I had pretty much known him my whole life), Dez's sister Didi, who was kind of like a big sister figure to me, Trish (Even though I didn't _quite_ know her as long l had known Ally or Dez, and she did babysit me sometimes) and Summer. Kevin approached the defendant stand with his dad. Apparently, his dad was just as troubled as he was, having a lot of DUI and manslaughter charges (which was how Kevin's mother died when he was about five. She had died in a car accident).

His dad was drunk and caused a car accident and went to jail for a month for manslaughter, driving while intoxicated and a lot of hit-and-runs. My ex-boyfriend had a very adversarial relationship with his father. The persecutor asked me,

"Ms. Leah Abigail Moon?"

I raised my hand and said nervously,

"That's me, your honor."

"Mr. Kevin Erhard Thomas?"

Kevin raised his hand and said,

"That's me, your honor."

"You were in a relationship with Mr. Thomas for how long?"

"Six months."

"How long was it before he started to mistreat and abuse you?"

"Four months."

"What was your age and what was Mr. Thomas's age?"

"I was thirteen years, ten months, Kevin had just turned nineteen. He started off treating me kindly, but two months into our relationship, he asked me if I wanted to have sexual intercourse with him, I denied, he tried to make me, and from that point on, he would call me awful names, yell at me, demean me, dictate who I could and couldn't see and make me account for my whereabouts. He attempted to get me to drink and use heroin with him. When I tried to break up with him, he slammed me against a locker and strangled me so hard I could hardly breathe. I was a lot more vulnerable than I usually am."

The prosecutor handed Kevin and his dad a sheet. Kevin seemed just flabbergasted and outraged as if it were a death threat.

"What the hell is this?"

Mr. Thomas said,

"Kevin!"

The persecutor looked at him.

"It's a restraining order. If you ever contact or go within one hundred yards of Miss Moon again, because she is a minor and you're an adult, you will be taken into custody. Is that understood?"

Kevin took out his lighter and a cigar.

"OK?"

The case couldn't have been dismissed a moment too soon. I was so relieved to be at home. I changed into some loungewear- my dark blue hoodie that said Lakerose Middle School in goldish-yellow and had a goldish-yellow griffin on it and on the back it said class of 2020 and below the class of 2020 it had everyone member of my eighth grade class, including me, written in goldish-yellow and it had a gold metal zipper that was partially zipped, revealing a blue flirtitude long sleeved pullover top, white baggy sweatpants that said Love in gold letters on the butt. I decided to read a book as a way to relax and unwind. Reading had always been one of my favorite activities.

A few of my favorite books were the _Harry Potter, Twilight_ and _The Hunger Games_ series, and _The Fault In Our Stars_ (I openly admitted to crying after I finished because it was so hauntingly beautiful and the ending was so sad) _, Paper Towns, The Perks of being a Wallflower, Oliver Twist_ (even though I was only halfway through it. I was quite a fan of Charles Dickens. _A Christmas Carol_ and _A tale of two cities_ were good books, but _Moby Dick_ sounded a little too emotionally grotesque for me) and _the selection_ trilogy by Kiera Cass _._

Ally and I kind of bonded over _Harry Potter_ and romance novels, while Austin told me that he read _The Hunger Games,_ one of the _Twilight_ books, _The perks of being a wallflower_ and he admitted that he cried after reading _The fault in our Stars._ Eh, who could blame him? It was a romance novel about two teenagers who were terminally sick with cancer, The author of Hazel's favorite book, _An imperial affliction_ , turned out to be a pompous jackass, and at the end, Gus, the love of Hazel's life, died. I clutched my old pink, purple and gold blanket with a gold tiara and gold stars and flowers, on the purple bottom, it said Shine like a star, wherever you are in gold, and on it were Jasmine, Belle, Ariel, Snow White, Cinderella and Aurora in their gold dresses. (I was fourteen and still was a fan of Disney, particularly the princesses. Don't judge me.) and I grabbed my favorite stuffed animal, a stuffed panda bear that I had had since I was about a year old and I laid on the couch, under my _Disney Princess_ blanket, cuddled with my panda and with a book that I loved practically to death. My dad said to me,

"Hey, sweetie."

I looked up from reading and said,

"Hey, Daddy."

My dad chuckled.

"I haven't heard you call me that in a long time. I just wanted to see how my little princess was doing."

I said,

"I'm fine. I feel hopeful that Kevin will leave me alone with the restraining order."

My dad sat down beside me. He patted the seat beside him and said to me,

"Come here."

I put my book down on the coffee table and I nuzzled up to him. He held me close and he kissed me on the top of my head.

I said,

"Dad, I don't want to be pessimistic, but I don't think I'll ever forget all the horrible things Kevin has done to me."

My dad kissed my forehead.

"You know what, pumpkin? It's normal to feel that way when something like that happens. Before your mother met me, she was in an abusive relationship, too. Rape, or any other kind of abuse, now matter how long ago it happened, is psychologically scarring. For women, or for men. They're being forced to do something they're not comfortable with. But the worst you can do is isolate with it, which, thankfully you didn't do."

I said,

"That was how I felt. I just want a boyfriend who will love me and protect me. I want a relationship like the one you have with Mom, or the one Austin has with Ally."

"Your brother was lucky to find Ally, and he's very happy with her. Someday, you're going to find him. The guy who you deserve, and who deserves you. You're beautiful, you're smart, you're kind, you're good-natured and don't you ever give up on your love life."

That made me feel really good. I hugged my father and he kissed my forehead.

"I love you, princess."

"I love you too, Daddy."

He stood up and saw what I had with me that wasn't _Oliver Twist_.

"I can see you're reading with Panda."

I smiled.

"Don't judge me, Dad. Panda has actually pulled me through some of the toughest times of my life. Besides Summer, he's my best friend."

My father smiled.

"He always has been. First he helped you with your anxiety about starting preschool, then your fears of camping in the woods because you thought they were haunted when you were little, nightmares when Austin accidentally let you watch those supernatural horror movies and now he's helped you get through your abusive relationship with Kevin."

I looked at Panda.

"Thank you, Panda. You're my best friend."

I did a voice that kind of made me sound like Kermit the frog.

"Anytime, Leah. I'm your best friend. It's what I'm here for."

I hugged him and snuggled him close. My dad laughed as he left the living room and I continued reading my book. Sometimes there was nothing that made you feel better like your favorite stuffed animal, a warm fuzzy blanket and a good book. Plus, for Miami, the weather was surprisingly cold.


	9. Chapter 9

**AUSTIN:**

I was in heaven right now. Ally and I were having a little hang out with our four best friends, Jace Dillon and Trish De La Rosa (and they brought over little Bella, christened Isabella Guadalupe Athena Dillon, our adorable goddaughter) and Dez Wade and his ex-girlfriend/close platonic friend/roommate/friend with benefits Carrie Lainfield. The six of us just wanted to get together because tomorrow, Trish and Jace were leaving to go Albuquerque, where Jace was born and raised (but he moved to Miami in our freshman year of high school because his dad got a job here), to go to Jace's twenty-seven-year-old brother Ryder's wedding. I had met him many years ago, like I'd finally met his eldest brother Eric, who was thirty-one who lived with his wife Tina and their six-year-old son Jack and three-year-old daughter Olivia, his younger brother Easton, who was twenty and at UC Davis, and obviously his parents, Agnes and John. Isabella was in Trish's arms, just sucking her pacifier and staring at her with her huge hazel eyes.

She definitely had Jace's eyes, but she had Trish's face, cute little chubby cheeks and she had dark chocolate colored hair. It seemed like only yesterday Ally and I were in the hospital, seeing her for the first time. Trish was literally crying tears of happiness and asked us to be her godparents and she was crying even harder at the christening. I'll admit, Ally and I shed some tears, too. Who could blame me?

They were both very beautiful moments. Carrie took a sip of her red wine while Dez was rubbing Gabby's belly. I saw him pick her up and she was licking his face. Gabby was looking at Isabella, but clearly that was unknown to Dez, as he was drinking his bottle of Bud Light. My best friend asked in a baby voice,

"What are you looking at, Gabby? What are you looking at?"

Carrie laughed.

"I think she's looking at Bella. Now that she mentions it, there _is_ something different about her, Trish."

Ally took a sip of her champagne.

"She's grown a little bit. Babies generally become more active around the first month of life."

Carrie said,

"Well, yeah, true. But Ally, I was thinking of a different change."

Trish said,

"We did just get her ears pierced. Doesn't she look pretty?"

Carrie says,

"Yeah. She was already gorgeous, though, but now you just made her extra beautiful."

Isabella spit her binky out and started crying.

Carrie asked,

"Did I say something wrong?"

Trish said,

"No, no. She just needs something. She's been really fussy a lot lately."

Ally takes a sip of her wine.

"Do you think it could be colic?"

Trish rocked her hysterically crying baby in her arms.

"I hope not."

"Don't worry, Trish. Colic is just when a baby cries for three hours a day for three days a week. It's usually outgrown by the third month."

"OK, good. You scared the hell out of me there, Ally."

She lifted Bella up and smelled her bottom.

"She doesn't need to be changed, I changed her before we left, so she's probably hungry. Jace, can you get me her bottle and the bib? They're in the diaper bag. "

"Yeah."

I saw him put his beer bottle down on the coaster and I heard an unzipping sound and I saw him dig and pull out a bottle and a pink and white bib that said Bella in purple letters and had a pink crown, a pink wand, some pink sewn magic.

"Thanks, babe."

Her and her boyfriend kissed and Trish cooed in a baby voice,

"Here you go, princess,"

Trish put Bella's bib on her shoulder inserted the bottle nipple into the baby's mouth. Isabella was drinking her bottle and starting to calm down. Jace looked at his girlfriend.

"How'd you know she was hungry?"

"I'm a mama now, Jace! We have our ways!"

I said,

"Thank god she just wanted her bottle. I thought I was going to have to give her my wallet to suck on."

Isabella's mom laughed.

"It was pretty funny when she did that at the christening."

I said,

"Thank god the wallet was closed. Can I hold her?"

My latina friend burped her daughter and handed her over to me.

I gasped and cooed,

"Hi, baby. Hi. Hi."

Gabby trotted over on the other side of my lap and started looking at the baby in my arms.

I whispered in a baby voice,

"Are you looking at the puppy doggy?"

My puppy licked my friend's baby's chubby cheek and they both were just staring at each other. I said,

"Isabella and Gabby are having a staring contest. Who do you think is winning?"

Trish took a sip of her glass of wine.

"I think Gabby's winning. Even though Isabella looks at stuff for long periods of time. The idea of your puppy and my baby having a staring contest is so freakin' cute."

I think the baby won that contest. Gabby licked her face as a way of congratulating her. I saw Jace reach over and pick up and cradle her. She looked at him with her big eyes. Jace was an amazing father, and Trish was a great mother. Ally and I had always seen Trish as this tough-as-nails, in-your-face, sometimes foul-mouthed kind of girl (She was a younger, latina version of Samantha Jones from _Sex and the City._ Well, she had the swearing part, but she wasn't as preoccupied with sex with Jace.), but she had a softer, more sympathetic side to the people she loved and we'd been seeing a very maternal side to her ever since little Isabella was born. Trish handed him her pacifier and he stuck it in her mouth and I saw her tiny fingers wrap around his finger.

Gabby went over to me, in obvious need of a snuggle.

"Come here, Gabby. Come here, puppy."

Gabby sat in my lap and started to lick my face. I asked,

"So, Trish, when do you go back to work?"

Trish took a sip of her wine.

"Next month."

Carrie looked confused.

"Trish, aren't you a doctor?"

She laughed.

"Oh, Carrie. I'm a doctor (she did air quotes with her fingers.) Doctor (she did air quotes again) is simply a more innocent term for medical marijuana dealer. Actually, technically, you were right because I'm going to medical school to become a pediatrician."

I scratched my black and tan canine short hair on her tummy and I said,

"You remember my little sister Leah?"

Jace handed the baby over to Trish and she picked Bella's pacifier up from the coffee table and stuck it into her mouth and cradled her.

"Yeah."

"Her dream since last year is to be one."

"Oh my god. That's amazing! It seems like only yesterday she was that little girl I used to babysit."

Ally took another sip of her glass of wine and looked at her childhood best friend.

"Who are you going to have watch Isabella though, Trish?"

Jace owned his own roller-rink and Trish worked full-time as a high-grade medical weed dealer and was going back to school to earn her medical degree. She had also been Ally's and my manager ever since we started our singing careers and when Ally started her modeling career. Ever since her and Jace moved in together (and when she found out she was pregnant with Isabella), Trish had been taking work a lot more seriously. When we were teenagers, she got fired at least twice a day.

"I decided to leave her with my mom."

My wife took another sip of her drink.

"Doesn't your mom work, Trish?"

"She's a homemaker, remember?"

"Oh yeah."


	10. Chapter 10

**LEAH:**

I was at school where I saw Summer was staring at her iPhone and laughing herself almost delirious. I went over and asked,

"What's so funny?"

She still was almost dying of laughter.

"Sh-sh-shane Dawson!"

Shane Dawson was this YouTube comedian who made these really screwed up yet funny videos. My brother used to watch his videos when he was in his teens. Obviously Summer was a big fan of him. Oh, and despite his name, he wasn't related to my sister-in-law Ally in anyway. Ally's maiden name was Dawson, and clearly, she had taken mine and Austin's last name when she married him.

"What's Shane Dawson up to this time?"

I asked sarcastically.

"I'm still watching the one where he has all these Nickelodeon conspiracy theories."

I had seen his Nickelodeon conspiracy theories video. He had conspiracy theories about the Nickelodeon that was Austin's childhood, like _Rugrats, Rocko's Modern Life, Hey Arnold, Spongebob Squarepants_ and _Ren and Stimpy._ Though I didn't understand why _Ren & Stimpy_ was aimed at an audience so young, yet it went pretty far in the sexual innuendo department. I had caught a glimpse of my brother watching the show when I was about six and he was sixteen, and I remember a scene where Stimpy had a log on his back and Ren had a saw between his legs and he was sawing rapidly, and as he was doing that, Stimpy was making noises like either he was high or orgasming. After Ren was done, Stimpy had said,

"Don't you want to stay and cuddle?"

Or there was a scene where Stimpy was giving birth to a dung baby. Or there was an episode that showed a married couple naked and bathing. I mean, my brother watched stuff like _South Park, Futurama, Bob's Burgers, Brickleberry, Archer, The Simpsons_ or anything created by Seth MacFarlane, sometimes with my parents, and those had humor that made more sense than _Ren & Stimpy. _Ugh. Probably the most disturbing cartoon I had ever seen.

Even my parents would complain every time they saw him watching that, well, when he was a teenager. But Austin was twenty-four, rich and married now, and he could do whatever the hell he wanted. My phone went off. It was a text from Austin. It said,

"Hey, Leah. I wanted to see how you've been doing."

I texted him saying,

"I'm fine. Kevin was put on trial and Mom and Dad were on my side every step of the way."

He texted back saying,

"Mom and Dad love you, just like I do. And I hated seeing you go through this experience."

I texted back,

"I love you, too. I don't think I'll ever forget being raped and abused."

He texted,

"It's totally normal to feel that way. When a woman is raped, it's very hard for her to forget it. Do you remember Ally's and my friend Trish?"

I texted,

"Yeah. I know Trish."

Austin texted me back saying,

"In our junior year of high school, she was raped by a twenty-five-year-old Brad who was posing as a teenager. At first he was nice to her, and then he defiled her, stalked her and coerced him to send pictures of her in her birthday suit."

I texted,

"Oh my god that's awful."

He texted back,

"I know. She was terrified and crying for days. But Jace is the guy who saved her and the two have been happily dating ever since."

Later, I went to my last two classes and started walking home from school. On my way home, I saw a blue and white striped 2013 mustang pull up. Out walked who I was desperately trying to avoid- Kevin. He looked angry. I was very scared.

"Well, I hope you're satisfied, Leah Moon!"

I was trying my hardest not to cry because I was sure that, crying to him was weakness.

"What-what are you talking about, Kevin?"

"Don't you play clueless with me, bitch! You didn't keep your douche little mouth shut!"

I screamed,

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME, KEVIN! You heard the restraining order."

"Restraining order, smainstaining order! IF I TELL YOU TO KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT YOU'LL DO IT! UNDERSTAND, YOU LITTLE BRAT!"

He shoved me into a row of garbage cans and punched me very hard in the face. He picked me up and strangled me. I lost consciousness and fainted to the ground. Hours later, I woke up in the hospital, with an oxygen mask on my face. I looked around and I saw Dez, Austin's childhood best friend, sitting by me.

"Dez?"

I asked, confused.

"You OK?"

My older brother figure asked me, obviously concerned for me.

"I don't know,"

I said drowsily.

"Last I remember, my ex-boyfriend assaulted me because he was angry at me for getting him a restraining order."

Dez said to me,

"Yeah. I know. Austin told me about everything you've been going through with him, and he told me how vulnerable you've been feeling ever since, and I just can't believe he did such an appalling thing to you."

"He's done worse."

"What could be worse than a pedophile assaulting a minor?"

"The cycle of abuse started when he raped me."

My brother's best friend looked upset.

"Mike and Mimi need to know about that."

"My parents? They already do know, and they got him a restraining order."

"I called your parents earlier and your mom said she was with your dad on their way."

I asked,

"What-what about Kevin?"

Dez said to me,

"I called the police on him and they arrested him. I don't want you to be alone."

I asked,

"But what about Carrie?"

"Carrie's at her job at Starbucks. She doesn't get off until seven."

My body felt like a boulder. I almost fell asleep. My mom whispered,

"Hey, baby girl. Hey, baby. Mommy's here, I'm here."

My dad was stroking my hair.

"Are you OK, princess?"

I opened my eyes. My parents were standing over me and glancing at me. My dad turned to Dez.

"Dez, was she assaulted by Kevin?"

My brother's friend said,

"I'm afraid so. I was buying my mom a bottle of red wine for her birthday next week, when I saw him assaulting her. I told him to stop or I'd call the police on him, and he didn't and I called the cops and then 911 because she passed out."


	11. Chapter 11

**LEAH:**

My parents seemed outraged. My mom said,

"How the hell did this happen? We got Kevin a restraining order."

Dez turned to me,

"Leah, how did this happen?"

I said,

"I was walking home from school, and Kevin approached me. He was really angry because of the restraining order we filed. He yelled at me and pushed me against a row of garbage cans and punched me in the face and I lost consciousness."

My brother's best friend told them,

"I found her lying on the ground unconscious by her backpack."

I sat up and I wanted to look around for my backpack, but I felt dizzy when I sat up. It was by the chair Dez was sitting in, and my clothes were in a heap by it, even my undergarments.

"I need to get going. Leah, I promise I'll check in on you later. Mike and Mimi, I appreciate you being there for your daughter, my best friend's sister."

I saw him shake my dad's hand and hug my mom and stride out of the hospital. I was so appreciative of my brother's best friend right now. I had known him my whole life. He'd been my non-biological brother. Actually, in a way, he was kind of like my brother. He was friends with Austin, who I was related to by blood.

He'd known Austin longer than he had known Ally or as long than Ally had known Trish. He held me when I was about two weeks old. He had danced with me during my brother and Ally's wedding reception. And his sister Didi used to babysit for me when I was younger. Did I like Dez like that?

No. But I cared about him, he made me laugh, him (and Austin) used to play with me when I was little, and he cared about me. My mom told me,

"Come on, sweetie."

I climbed out of the bed and I felt dizzy with ringing in my ears. I almost fainted but my dad caught me.

My mom turned to me.

"Sweetie, are you OK?"

I said,

"Not really. I have a headache, I feel dizzy and I need to…."

I felt sick to my stomach and the need to throw up. My mom turned to my dad.

"Mike, can you hold her things? I think she needs to be sick."

My mom guided me into the bathroom and I just vomited in the toilet.

"Leah, how much have you eaten today?"

"I ate some cereal for breakfast this morning, and I ate some cucumber slices, a small bag of fruit snacks and some chicken alfredo pasta."

"So you don't have the flu, but it's obvious that Kevin beat you into a concussion, and I think you should stay home from school tomorrow."

"Alright. But mom, I'm scared. I thought this would end when we got him a restraining order."

My mom looked at me.

"Come here, sweetie."

I came closer to her and she kissed my head.

"Why your father and I got him the restraining order is because Kevin is very abusive. And Dez called the police on him and they arrested him. I've told you this many times, if you need anything, your father and I are always here."

I hugged her and she hugged me. My dad knocked on the door.

"Is she OK, Mimi?"

"Mike, I think Kevin beat Leah into a concussion. She just threw up and she was complaining of a headache, ringing in her ears and vertigo."

Dad turned to me.

"Sorry, sweetie."

He handed me my clothes and my mom helped get me into them. As they drove me home, I got into my bedroom and changed into my pajamas, a light pink long sleeved scoop neck top and black pants with light pink, coral and gray lip kisses and I put on my cream furry slippers. I sat at my vanity and looked in my mirror. All of a sudden, all of these awful flashbacks started to play back in my head.

 **FLASHBACK**

Kevin and I were alone in his bedroom, kissing. He started to take his shirt off and then his pants.

"What are you doing?"

He whispered seductively,

"We're having sex."

and stripped my top off and then zipping my jeans off, where I was wearing just a bra and panties and pulled a condom from the pocket of his jeans, that were lying face down on his bed. I protested,

"But I'm not ready!"

Kevin clearly wasn't in the mood to hear this from me.

"Do it. AND DO IT NOW!"

I was very scared so I quickly out my top and skinny jeans back on, grabbed my backpack and ran out the door.

He had said to me,

"Why the hell are you telling me what to do, you little whore? I will freaking beat you to a pulp, slut!"

and punched me so hard in the face. The flashback of what happened to me today came back, too.

"Well, I hope you're satisfied, Leah Moon!"

"Don't you play clueless with me, bitch! You didn't keep your douche little mouth shut!"

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME, KEVIN! You heard the restraining order."

"Restraining order, smainstaining order! IF I TELL YOU TO KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT YOU'LL DO IT! UNDERSTAND, YOU LITTLE BRAT!"

He shoved me into a row of garbage cans and punched me very hard in the face. He picked me up and strangled me. I lost consciousness and fainted to the ground.

 **FLASHBACK ENDS**

Tears welled in my eyes. I covered my eyes with my hand and sobbed into my hand. I looked at my tearstained face, highlighted by a nice, purple shiner on my eye (Thanks, Kevin), in the mirror.

"It's hard to stay strong when you have a heavy heart."

I said to myself.

I felt the wave of nausea hit me like a ton of bricks. I stood up and I got dizzy. Dammit. I got up too fast. Thank god the bathroom was across from my bedroom.

My mom walked in.

"Is your nausea acting up, sweetie?"

Still recovering from my crying spell, I said,

"Yeah."

My mom looked at me.

"Were you crying, Leah?"

I said,

"Yeah. Because of the tough time I've been going through these past few weeks. Go ahead. Yell at me. Tell me I'm being dramatic."

My mom gave me a look.

"Leah, why would I yell at you or tell you you're being dramatic? You've been going through a very tough time and it's hard to deal with."

It was comforting to know that my mother, who gave birth to me, made money with my dad to support me and loved my dad, my brother and I was on my side. She had bought me bras, pads and tampons when I needed them, she had told me that I could talk to her about anything and after all, the most powerful influence in a child's life was the same-sex parent. Austin and my dad had a strong relationship, and my mom and I had a strong bond. Of course, not that Austin didn't have one with my mom, and not that I didn't have one with my dad.

My mom put my head in her hands and kissed my forehead. Dammit. The wave of nausea hit me again like a ton of bricks.

"Mom,"

I said, on the verge of throwing up. My mom obviously knew my need and held my hair back and I lifted up the toilet lid and retched in the toilet.


	12. Chapter 12

**LEAH:**

Wonderful. As if the nausea and vertigo weren't enough, now my head was aching.

"Mom, my head aches,"

I said faintly.

"Go and rest in your room, honey. I'll call Doctor Grant, and I think you should stay home from school tomorrow."

I lay in my bedroom. My head was pounding and I was dizzy, my ears had ringing in them, and the nausea wave just hit me again. Feeling dizzy on my way to the bathroom, I ran and vomited again and flushed it. I just tossed and turned for five hours- ten PM to three AM. All that was on my mind was my ex-boyfriend who had been treating me like a doormat and how he had gone so far as violating a restraining order and almost killing me in the process.

I cried myself to sleep again and it once again made me want to throw up which once again gave me my bitchass vertigo. And on top of that, my head was killing me. Plus my ears had ringing in them. Great. When I woke up at seven AM, I heard my mom talking on the phone.

"Hello, Mr. Conley? Yeah, this is Mimi Moon, Leah's mother. She won't be at school today because yesterday she was assaulted by her ex-boyfriend and it gave her a concussion. I'll call you when I'm ready to send her to school again. Which reminds me, I should go check on her now. OK. Thanks. Goodbye."

My mom walked into my room.

"Are you feeling any better, Leah?"

I sighed.

"Honestly, no, Mom."

"On that note, your appointment with Doctor Grant is at nine."

"Should I get dressed?"

My mom said,

"I think you'll be fine in just your pajamas. But I would recommend wearing a layer of some sort. It's kind of chilly outside."

I grabbed a plain white hoodie with white drawstrings and a silver zipper and put on a pair of white keds. At the hospital, a latina nurse named Doctor Adrianna Velazquez took my blood pressure (I had a one-hundred), temperature (for a pounding headache, I didn't have a fever), height (I was five foot three) and weight (I was only one hundred pounds). My vertigo came back and caused me to faint into her arms at least twice while she was taking my height and weight. She lifted me onto the table and asked me,

"What seems to be the trouble?"

I said,

"My ex-boyfriend, who abused me for a majority of our six month relationship, and who my parents and I filed a restraining order against, beat me into a concussion. I've been feeling vertigo, nausea, ringing in my ear and I have a headache."

The nurse looked at me.

"¡Que terrible! You're beautiful and you definitely deserve a better boyfriend than him. Do you need a hug?"

I said,

"More than ever."

She tightly hugged me and said to me,

"I have to go see some more patients. I'll send your mom in here. The doctor will see you in about ten minutes. But in the meantime, feel better."

"Thanks."

She walked out and my mom walked in. Doctor Grant walked in, and he asked me,

"What seems to be the problem?"

My mom said,

"Her volatile ex-boyfriend, who her, my husband and I filed a restraining order against, beat her."

He studied my eye.

"I see she has a black eye."

"Yes, doctor, he gave her a black eye, and she threw up about three or four times last night and she was complaining of vertigo and ringing in her ears and she fainted twice."

I piped in.

"Yeah. Plus, he beat me to the point where I couldn't breathe."

He turned to me.

"If that happens to you, Leah, you need to go to the emergency room."

I said,

"My brother's friend saw me unconscious and he called nine one one."

My mom turned to him.

"What do you suggest for a concussion?"

"I suggest limiting television, and you should have her rest a lot."

I said,

"No problem. I like reading more anyway."

I mean, I liked television, but I liked reading more.

"That's good to hear. Anyway, you should use a washcloth or towel and wrap ice or frozen vegetables and apply it under her head and repeat every two to four hours."

"That's good for her headaches and her vertigo. But what about her nausea?"

Dr. Grant said,

"Nausea? Oh yes. I would reccomend keeping a small bucket or a bowl nearby. And you should limit the food you give her and give her a lot of fluids, preferrably water."

Crap. I felt dizzy again.

"Mom, I feel dizzy."

"Do you have antibiotics or other kind of medication you think she should take, doctor?"

"Normally, I don't suggest this to minors, but I would suggest medical marijuana."

"Marijuana? Why would Marijuana be safe for her? Her brain cells are not going to fully develop until she's twenty-five."

"She can't take it by mouth or by cigarettes, but the safest way to consume marijuana is by spray. It may make her loopy or it may make her anxious or paranoid. But it won't harm her in anyway."

Eventually, my mom and I went home. I felt dizzy on my way up, but I was glad to get to my room and I felt dizzy as I was going to my closet to get my Disney Princess blanket and _Oliver Twist_ and covered myself with the blanket. I had just started lying on my bed under my _Disney Princess_ blanket when my mom came with a bowl under her arm and a white towel with an ice pack in it.

She said to me,

"Here. Lift your head up, Leah."

I sat up and she laid the ice pack on my pillow and I laid on it.

"The bowl's in case you need to vomit. My poor baby girl."

She kissed my forehead.

"I'll be downstairs if you need anything, sweetie. OK?"

"OK."

She kissed my forehead and I cuddled up with my panda, and pulled out an old photo album. It was a twenty page photo album. In the first picture, it had Austin holding me when I was a newborn. The second one had Austin and I when he was thirteen and I was three and we were snuggling on the couch in our pajamas- his being a gray long sleeved thermal shirt and dark blue pajama pants with Stewie from _Family Guy_ and it said born to be bad in blue letters and mine being a pink short sleeved tee with Aurora, Belle and Cinderella holding baskets of flowers and pink pants that had Aurora, Belle and Cinderella and pink roses on my pants. The third one had Summer and I hugging at her fourth birthday at Kubo Play Inc.

The fourth one had a picture of Austin feeding me my bottle when I was about four months old. The fifth one had him playing pattycake with me when I was about one and he was eleven. The sixth one had Austin and I at Pizza Johnny's when I was three and he was thirteen and he had his arm around me and on the table by my arm was my _Dora The Explorer_ sippy seventh one had me when I was about three wearing my Belle costume with a pair of sequined Minnie Mouse ears. The eighth one had me with Summer, Amaya, Quinn and Claire at our preschool graduation party (we were Brickell International Academy class of 2011).

The ninth one had me on my first day of kindergarten wearing my metallic light purple Disney princess backpack (the straps on my shoulders and the front on my back) and on the top it said Princess on the top in white and the i's dot was a pink heart shaped diamond and on the lower pocket it had Aurora, Belle, Tiana and Cinderella and it had pale pink and pale purple flowers and white sparkles on it and I was carrying a pink lunchbox with Hello Kitty and pink and white bows on it. The tenth one had me pushing my Baby Alive, my old Abby Cadabby plush and my panda in a toy stroller when I was about three. The eleventh one had me when I was four at the Grapeland Water Park with Austin (fourteen at the time) and I was on his hip, clad in a pink polka dot spaghetti strap swimsuit with Peppa Pig ( _Peppa Pig_ was a cartoon I had quite an affinity for as a child. I had almost as big as a penchant for _Peppa pig_ as I did for Disney Princess, Disney fairies, _Dora The Explorer,_ Hello Kitty and Littlest Pet Shop) dressed like a fairy on it and Austin's being a pair of navy swim trunks with a pale blue stripe on the left leg. Dammit. My head was aching and I felt tired.

That was enough reading for me for now. I yawned and fell asleep.


	13. Chapter 13

**AUSTIN:**

Earlier this week, I had texted my sister to check on her. I cared about her and had loved her ever since my mom was pregnant with her. I had been one of the first people to hold her when she was born and I remember she had held my finger. She would often make me play with her, which I loved to do, and she would make me watch her television programs with her, which were way too annoying for me but I understood that it wasn't about the program, what she really wanted was time with me. And I loved Leah and I wanted to make her happy.

And also because, she wasn't as prone to temper tantrums like your typical toddler. Plus, Leah reminded me a lot of my wife when she was young, except Leah wasn't nearly as awkward as Ally used to be when we first met, she was related to me, you can't marry your sister because that would be incest, one of the most frightening things I had ever heard of in my life, and she had dreams of being a pediatrician. And my wife's dreams of being a singer-songwriter, with being a model, having her own fashion, accessory, makeup and perfume line and co-owning my record label, Moon Records, that my boss at Starr Records Jimmy Starr had given me as a twenty-first birthday present, her dreams had already come true, just like mine. We lived in the thickest wealth imaginable, but we liked to be modest about it, living in a cozy, two story home instead of a mansion. We wanted to wait about two or three years until we were ready to have children (Ally and I were sexually active, so we could conceive at anytime) but we had our little cavapoo Gabby, the closest thing to a child right now.

We both loved Gabby- playing with her, cuddling with her, taking her for walks. I decided to go to my parents' house to check in with my sister and I decided to take Gabby with me. I grabbed a small bag in case she had to do her business, another bag and filled it some dog treats and I grabbed her leash. Speak of the devil. My puppy was pawing at my leg and barking like crazy.

I took a dog biscuit from the bag and I said,

"Gabby, Gabby sit. Sit!"

She sat and I told her,

"Good girl,"

and she ate the treat right out of my hand. I picked her up and went down to my mother-in-law's room to see if she needed anything. My mother-in-law Penny Dawson had moved in with us three days ago because she had been having financial issues since she got out of the hospital after her diverticulitis surgery. Plus, her and my father-in-law, Lester, had divorced when Ally was nine years old, so she had been living on her own for the better part of fifteen years. She was fifty-five, but she looked twenty years younger in Ally's and my eyes.

Middle aged or elderly didn't mean unattractive. Clutching Gabby, I walked down to the mother-in-law suite. Her door was closed so I knocked on it.

"Come in,"

I heard her say.

"Penny, I'm going to my parents' house to check in on my sister. Do you need anything before I go?"

She took a sip of her glass of water on her nightstand and said,

"Can you hand me the remote for the television?"

"Sure."

I went to the TV stand and handed her the remote.

"Thanks, Austin. You're the best son-in-law ever."

I laughed.

"Well, I'm your only son-in-law."

"Still, I really appreciate you and Ally letting me stay here."

I said,

"Of course. You've been having financial issues since you came home from your surgery and we love you. I'll be back later."

I went over, kissed her cheek and she kissed mine, and Gabby gave her a kiss on her cheek.

"If you need anything, just call me."

"OK. Thanks. See you later."

Gabby barked and swayed her paws.

My mother-in-law cooed,

"Bye-bye, Gabby."

I got Gabby in my car, and she sat in the passenger seat. She was putting her paws on the window and standing on her hind legs. She was barking and I didn't know why.

I asked her,

"What are you so excited about?"

She gave me a look, as if she was trying to say,

"I'm a dog. I always get excited."

At my parents' house, I put my brakes on my car on and I put Gabby on her leash. I saw Gabby stop and I said,

"I thought you were excited."

I saw why she stopped.

"Oh, you need to pee? OK."

After she was done, I opened the door to my car, took Gabby's leash off, put it in the car, locked the car and I picked her up and knocked on my door. My mom answered it.

"Hey, son."

"Hey, mom."

She hugged me and kissed my cheek and I hugged her and kissed her cheek. She immediately stared at Gabby and cooed,

"And you brought this little lovebug!"

"Yeah. Say hi, Gabby."

I waved her paw.

"Can I hold her, Austin?"

I smiled.

"Of course. She's very friendly."

I handed my furry little friend over to my mom and she cooed,

"Aww, hi, Gabby. Hi puppy."

My puppy dog started to give my mom kisses. My mom put Gabby on the floor, where she started chasing her tail.

"Aww, are you chasing your tail?"

My mom cooed in a baby voice.

I said,

"She chases her tail a lot."

I said to Gabby in a baby voice,

"Don't get dizzy."

She stopped chasing her tail and started to look around, sniffing the carpet.

My mom asked me,

"So am I like her grandmother, now?"

I said,

"Sure why not? But Ally and I are probably going to have children eventually. We've definitely been talking about it. So you and dad will get some grandkids at some point and Leah will have a niece or nephew at some point. I mean, Ally's mom Penny just moved in with us because she just had surgery."

My mom looked concerned.

"Is she alright?"

"She's fine. She had diverticulitis surgery and she was having financial issues surrounding her surgery, so Ally and I let her live with us."

"I love Ally. Always thinking of other people before herself. What a selfless, sweet, caring young woman."

I laughed.

"That's why I married her."

Gabby was giving my mom her puppy eyes and my mom kissed her nose. I took my phone out and snapped a photo of my mom with Gabby.

"Mom, I think you've found a new friend."

I shared the photo to my Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

"I think I have. So, have you come to check on your sister?"

"You're a mind reader, Mom. Dad and Dez told me about Kevin beating her."

"Yeah, I took her to see Doctor Grant this morning and he said that she had a concussion. She threw up about three, four or five times and she complained of vertigo and a headache."

"I thought you guys filed him a restraining order."

"We did. But Kevin clearly violated it and he beat her unconscious. Dez was the one who saw him beat her up and he got Kevin arrested and he called 911."

"Where is she?"

"She's in her room resting. The doctor said she needed a lot of rest. I don't know whether she's asleep or awake. But you can see."

I said,

"Alright. I'll do that right now."

I said,

"Gabby, come here,"

And I made kissing noises. Gabby stopped sniffing the carpet and came trotting over to me. I said,

"Good girl."

I gave her a treat and she ate it right from my hand. I picked her up and walked up the stairs and I saw Leah's bedroom door was partially open. But I knocked anyway.

"Come in,"

I heard her say. I walked in and she was snuggled on her bed under her Disney Princess blanket that she had had since she was about three years old (My fourteen-year-old sister used to love Disney Princess when she was a child. She still did, but to a much lesser extent than she did was a child. As a child, she was totally preoccupied with it. And also this british cartoon called _Peppa Pig,_ _Dora The Explorer, Disney Fairies, Olivia the pig, Yo Gabba Gabba, Monster High, Barbie_ and _Littlest Pet Shop)_ reading _Oliver Twist_. She immediately looked up from her book and smiled at me.

"Austin, I've never been happier to see you. And you brought Gabby with you!"

I came over, clutching Gabby, and sat on her bed. I put Gabby beside me, hugged Leah and she threw herself at me. Gabby barked and licked Leah's face.

"Hi, Gabby."

Leah was petting Gabby and Gabby started to lick her face. She picked her up and cooed,

"You are so cute!"

And she kissed her cheek. Gabby started to lick my sister's face rapidly. Leah and Gabby seemed to be really good friends. Eventually she handed the baby canine to me.

"I came over because I wanted to check on you. Dad and Dez told me about what happened with Kevin, and I'm sorry."

She said to me,

"It's not your fault."

I put my hands on hers.

"What exactly happened?"

"Yesterday I was walking home from school and I saw Kevin's car pull up and he came out and started screaming at me, he called me a bitch and a brat, he slugged me in the face and shoved me into a wall and a row of garbage cans."

"That's awful. Kevin is not a guy who you should be hanging out with. He's making you feel unsafe, he drinks, he does drugs and he has severe violence issues."

I said.

"What's worse is he beat me again so hard that I blacked out and I got a concussion."

The more Leah told me about all the horrible things Kevin had said and done to her, the worse I felt for her. I said,

"Oh yeah, Mom told me. Come here, little sis."

She clung to me and I said to her,

"Anytime you need Ally or me, we're always right here."

She smiled at me.

"Thanks, Austin. I love you."

"I love you, too,"

I said to her. I hugged her again and kissed her forehead.

I asked her,

"Did anyone see you?"

She said,

"Dez saw me and he called 911 and the police and Kevin got arrested. When I woke up in the hospital, he was sitting by my bed. He called Mom and Dad and he told them what happened."

"Good for Dez! But how are you going to treat your concussion?"

She said,

"Dr. Grant said that I need medical marijuana."


	14. Chapter 14

**LEAH:**

My brother looked at me.

"If Dr. Grant prescribed you medical marijuana, I know just the person you can get it from."

This I knew all too well.

"Trish?"

"Yeah."

"I thought she was on maternity leave."

"She came back. She's also going to medical school to learn to become a nurse."

I said,

"Wow. I remember when she got laid off from all those jobs. But now she seems to have stepped up- a job selling high-grade medical pot, a medical degree and medical license to obtain, and caring for a baby all at once."

Austin told me,

"Ever since she moved in with her boyfriend Jace, she's been a lot more work-conscious. Especially since she has baby Isabella. They're both good parents."

I liked Jace and I had known him since I was about four. He was good-natured and fun to hang out with. Sometimes, before Austin moved out, him and/or Dez would sleep over here and sometimes I went to his roller rink with Summer, Quinn, Claire and Amaya, and he had given me a discount because I was his friend's little sister. He had been one of the best men in Austin and Ally's wedding and was the one, along with Dez, who helped plan Austin's bachelor party.

I asked him,

"How is she doing?"

"She's doing academically great. I know because she's posted her report cards on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, and she's a straight A student."

Austin asked me,

"Want to see pictures of Isabella?"

I smiled.

"Sure."

He pulled out his black iPhone six that was covered by a red Otterbox case and turned it on. The first photo was of Trish lying in the hospital bed, clad in a pink hospital gown and cradling a sleeping Isabella, wearing a pink hat and swaddled up in a white blanket with blue and pink horizontal stripes. The second was of Jace holding her and kissing her forehead. The third one was of Ally holding her. The fourth one was of Austin holding her.

The fifth one had Carrie holding her. The sixth one was of Dez holding her. The seventh one was at the Corpus Christi Catholic Church with Trish and Jace on the night of her baptism. Isabella was half-asleep, and she was just looking at the camera and clad in a white puffy sleeveless dress and a white flower headband. Apparently, Trish and Jace had both grown up extremely catholic.

The eighth picture had Austin and Ally on the pastor's left and Trish and Jace, Jace holding the baby. Another one had Ally holding Bella on their home couch. Another one had Bella and Gabby staring at each other at him and Ally's house. Another one had Gabby licking Bella's face at their house.

"Bella is a cute baby,"

I smiled.

"I know, right?"

Gabby was just sniffing everything in my bedroom. I asked my brother for one of her dog treats. I patted my legs and said,

"Gabby, Gabby. Come here, Gabby,"

I made kissing noises and Gabby came trotting over and ate the treat right from my hand. She started to lick my face. I saw my mom through my partially opened door and she walked in.

"Leah?"

"Mom?"

She smiled at the sight of Austin and I.

"Awww, you kids are so sweet together."

She took out her gold iPhone 5s, covered by a case that looked like the painting Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh and snapped a photo of my brother and I.

My brother laughed.

"What can I say? I've loved her since you got pregnant with her and she's my baby sister."

I grabbed onto him.

"And he's my brother. I've always loved him."

My mother smiled. I snuggled up into his arms.

"I love the relationship between you two. Anyway, Leah, I just wanted to let you know that earlier, I called Cosmic Kratom and they'd like you to come in at one fifteen today. Unfortunately, I have to go grocery shopping today."

Austin stepped in.

"Mom, if you want, I can take her. You remember my friend Trish?"

"Yeah."

"She works at Cosmic Kratom and I can take Leah to get her medication."

My mom looked relieved.

"Thanks, son. You're a lifesaver. I do think though that because Leah's a minor, she might need a note. Let me go run downstairs and write a note real fast."

She ran downstairs and came back in three minutes. She handed my brother a note.

"I'll see you at home later, Leah. Austin, I really appreciate that you're running my errand for me."

"No problem, Mom. Leah, you should probably get a layer and shoes on."

"Yeah."

I slid off my yellow slippers with red Minnie Mouse bows, stood up too fast and got dizzy again. But fortunately my brother caught me. I walked to my closet and grabbed my white sneakers and my white hoodie and my phone. My brother called,

"Gabby, come."

The little Black and Tan cavapoo puppy darted toward her father (her human father). He said to her,

"You've got a lot of energy for a three month old puppy. Come on, you little monster."

He picked his dog up and said,

"Come on, little sis."

He got me into his car and I sat shotgun with Gabby on my lap. She was licking my face rapidly.

"You're a sweetie. Yes, you are."

Dogs are adorable. Am I right? When I was going into sixth grade, I went to the Miami ASPCA camp with Summer and Quinn and played with cats, dogs, rabbits, rodents and birds. I loved furry animals, dogs especially, and I thought Gabby was the sweetest and cutest one I had ever met.

I also loved Summer's cats. The Alvarez-Evans family were total cat people. They had four cats. A white persian cat named Henry, a black, brown and white calico one named Luna, a black bombay named Bruja (which was spanish for witch, oh and Bruja was a girl) and an orange tabby named Cheddar (and Cheddar was a boy).


	15. Chapter 15

**LEAH:**

My brother stopped his car in front LA fitness. I lifted Gabby up and I asked Austin,

"Austin, do you have Gabby's leash?"

He said,

"Yeah. Here it is."

I put Gabby on her leash and handed her to my brother. He picked her up and put her on the ground. I held Austin's dominant hand as the other one had Gabby's leash. It took about ten minutes to walk from my brother's car to Cosmic Kratom. When we got there, I saw him tie Gabby's leash to a stop sign pole, and we saw Trish, with her wavy, black hair was tied in a bun and clad in pink scrubs, showing some of the people I'm going to assume she worked with, her iPhone 6 plus, covered with a case with Aladdin and Jasmine hugging and looking at each other romantically.

I remembered when she used to babysit me, she had told me that _Aladdin_ was her favorite Disney movie. Of course, who doesn't love Disney movies, right? Anyway, she was cooing,

"That's Bella dressed up as a Marlins' cheerleader. Jace and I took her to her first game on Saturday."

Another woman she was working with cooed,

"Aww!"

"And that's her with my friends' puppy having a staring contest."

The other woman beside her cooed,

"Aww."

She instantly looked up from her phone and noticed us.

"Speak of the devil. Here Austin is. This is my coworker Daphne, Daphne, this is my best friend Ally's husband Austin and his little sister Leah."

I smiled because Daphne seemed nice enough.

"Hi, Daphne."

She smiled.

"Hi, guys. It's nice to meet you."

My brother smiled.

"It's nice to meet you, too,"

He smiled and shook her hand.

"Yeah, it's very nice to meet you, too."

Trish stood forward.

"Dr. Grant called me saying you need medical marijuana."

I said,

"Yeah. Yesterday Kevin approached me and beat me into a concussion."

Trish shuddered.

"Yikes. That really sucks. What symptoms of a concussion did you have?"

I said,

"Nausea, vertigo, trouble sleeping, a headache-"

I felt dizzy again, Austin put Gabby down and fainted into Austin's arms.

"And apparently fainting. Leah, are you OK?"

I woke up from my fainting spell quickly.

"I hope so."

Trish told me,

"Leah, you're a minor, so I'm going to need a note from Mike or Mimi."

Austin told me,

"I got one right here. Our mom wrote her one earlier."

He handed her a note. She studied it.

"Alright. I'll be right back."

She came back with a small spray.

"Now, you should be taking no more than two spritzes a day, every eight hours. Since it's medical marijuana, when you take it, you may feel loopy or it'll make you feel anxious or paranoid."

I said,

"Doctor Grant said the same thing."

"Hmmm. And that'll be sixty dollars."

I was worried because I had no cash on me right now. Austin asked me,

"What's the matter, Leah?"

"I have no cash,"

I said.

"That's fine,"

my brother said. He pulled out his credit card.

"Thanks, Austin, and thank you, Trish."

Trish chuckled.

"No problem."

"How's life?"

Trish smiled.

"Life right now is great for me. I love my job and I think I'm on the verge of graduating early from medical school, and I love Jace and Bella."

She pulled out her phone again and opened her photos and showed me a picture of Jace and Bella at the marlins stadium.

"Two months old and already showing off her spirit for her home baseball team."

I cooed,

"Awww that is too cute! She looks like a mini you, Trish!"

Trish smiles.

"Awww, thanks. Jace and Bella already have a tight father daughter bond."

My brother handed me my spray.

"Leah, you've been through a lot. I kind of thought you and I could go grab a bite at Starbucks. You deserve a little something to warm up that little soul of yours."

I said,

"I love that idea."

I hugged him tightly and he hugged me and kissed the top of my head.

"I love you,"

he said to me.

"I love you, too, Austin."

We walked out and he untied Gabby's leash and the three of us were walking toward the Starbucks. He again tied Gabby's leash to a tow-away pole and he got me a chocolate chunk cookie and a hot chocolate with whipped cream and chocolate sauce and got himself a decaff latte and a chocolate chunk cookie. He took a sip of his beverage.

"Should we send a selfie to Ally?"

I smiled and laughed because he was so cute and funny.

"Sure. Come to think of it, where _is_ Ally?"

"She sends her love. She had a meeting to discuss endorcing her new makeup line."

"Ally doesn't need makeup. She's already gorgeous."

"That's what I keep telling her! But part of our money is her modeling and designer career."

He took a photo of us and sent it to my sister-in-law. As if on cue, Ally texted back, saying,

"You guys are real cute!"


	16. Chapter 16

**LEAH:**

My brother, with Gabby in his car, pulled up in front of my house.

"Austin, thanks for the starbucks and taking me to get my medication and for being there for me when I need you."

He smiled.

"That's what a family is. People who love each other and care about each other. And I love you and care about you."

I hugged him and he hugged me. He reached into the pocket and pulled out the bag with my medical weed spray. Gabby had been sitting on my lap the entire ride to my house. I picked her up and I said to her,

"Bye-bye, Gabby. Cute little puppy."

She started licking my cheek and I was Eskimo kissing her and I kissed her cheek.

Austin smiled.

"I gotta take some shots of you and Gabby. Because you guys are so cute together."

He took one of me smiling while holding her. He took another one of me kissing her cheek. He took another one of Gabby licking my face. He took another of Gabby and I nose-to-nose. I handed her to Austin and I hugged him and he hugged me and kissed my forehead.

I clutched my medicine and walked out of my brother's car. I got in the house and I was about to take the bottle from the bag when I heard the doorbell ring. I said,

"Coming!"

I walked to the door. It was my older brother's childhood best friend Dez Wade.

"Hi, Dez."

I said pleasantly.

"Hi, Leah. I came over to check in on you, to see how you're holding up."

I smiled.

"Awww, Dez. That's so sweet."

He smiled at me.

"Austin is your big brother, and I'm his childhood best friend. So, in a way, I'm like your big brother, too."

I said,

"I've known you for my whole life."

Dez said to me,

"You have. I remember I held you when you were about two weeks old and you just looked at me with your big blue eyes and you would hold my finger. I watched you take your first steps, I heard you say your first word, I saw you in your little Disney Princess costumes and you would say to your parents, Mommy, Daddy, I'm ready for Moon's Mattress Kingdom, I used to play with you when you were a baby, my sister Didi, when she used to babysit you, she would constantly gush about how cute and full of energy you were."

I laughed upon the nostalgia.

"Yeah. I've known you even longer than Austin has, or even longer than Ally has known Trish."

"Well, Ally and Trish have known each other since they were about five, and Austin and I have known each other the same. When I saw that your son of a bitch ex-boyfriend had assaulted you to the point where you were unconsious, that was the most scared I had been in a long time."

"Imagine how I felt. Kevin beat me into a-"

Before I could finish my sentence, I felt the wave of nausea wash over me again. Dez picked me up like a bride and carried me to the bathroom so I could retch in the toilet. After being sick, I felt dizzy again and I fainted into his arms.

Dez looked concerned for me.

"Are you OK?"

I said,

"Just some of the symptoms of the concussion Kevin beat me into. Dez, I'm scared. What if he tries to hurt me again?"

Dez comfortingly hugged me and rubbed my back.

"Shhh, it's OK. I'm here. I'm sure if he escapes from prison, his jail sentence will extend. You have so many people to keep you safe."

I smiled.

"I do, don't I?"

"I'm definetly one of them. I love you and care about you, Leah, and I want you to feel safe."

I asked him,

"Can you get me a glass of water?"

He said,

"Sure. Be right back."

He came back with a glass of water for me.

"Thank you. Can you also read me the directions inside the brown paper bag?"

Dez emptied the bag and stared at the bottle of medical cannabis as if he'd never seen a bottle of medical marijuana spray in his life.

"Medical Marijuana? Just for a concussion?"

I laughed. He was so funny.

"Doctor's order, Dez. But also, technically, I got it from Trish."

He rolled his eyes and giggled.

"Why am I not surprised?"

I smiled.

"Because that's her job besides being a baby mama and going to medical school to study pediatrics."

"True. Bella is probably the cutest baby I've seen in a long time. Even though I've only seen pictures of her online. On Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. I just want to squeeze her to death."

I said,

"I know. I'm dying to meet her in person she's such a cute baby."

Dez said to me,

"Yeah, she's pretty adorable."


	17. Chapter 17

**LEAH:**

Dez carried me bridal style up to my room while I was clutching my cup of water and my medicine.

He asked me,

"Is there anything that your doctor told you to do to help you recover?"

I said,

"Yeah. Dr. Grant told me to ice my head every two to four hours."

Dez discovered the towel with a bag of frozen peas in it.

"Be right back."

He came back with an ice pack wrapped in the same white face towel that was being used earlier. He said to me,

"Lift your head up."

I compliantly lifted my head up and the towel for my head and he kissed my forehead.

"Think you should try your medical cannabis now?"

I said,

"Sure. But there are directions inside it."

"According to the bottle, you're supposed to take than two spritzes a day maximum every eight to ten hours, and when you take it, you're supposed to swish it for at least ten seconds and then to swallow and wash it down with water. Now, open your mouth."

I opened my mouth. He sprayed two spritzes of the medical marijuana spray into my mouth. I swished it and after ten seconds, I washed it down with water. After I did it, I felt funny and didn't know why. Dez had been so nice to me and I was in love with him.

I didn't know if this was the cannabis talking, but I leaned in to kiss his lips and he kissed back.

He asked me,

"Do you think we should be doing this?"

I smiled,

"Yeah."

"Well, OK."

We started kissing again and I stripped off his yellow tee shirt with the _Rocko's Modern Life_ logo and it had Rocko and two of his friends, a bull and what I thought was a turtle on his shirt and his black jeans. We were making out and he stripped my pajama shirt off revealing my bra and I took my pajama pants off and I took my bra off. Eventually, we were naked under my Disney Princess blanket and I had realized I had done the stupidest thing I had done in a long time. I held my side of the blanket on my chest, covering my breasts.

"Dez?"

I asked.

"Yeah?,"

he asked me, sitting up.

"Am I hallucinating, or did we just go all the way?"

Dez looked around, seeing both our clothes on the ground, undergarments and all.

"Oh my god. This is bad."

"I don't even know what just happened. I think I was so stoned from my medicine that I had sex with you."

"Did we use contraception?"

"No,"

I said, freaking out.

"This is really, really, really bad!"

Dez told me,

"I know, I know. What's Carrie going to say?"

"Not just her, even though you guys are not dating. You're just roommates and friends with benefits. My parents, Austin, they'd never forgive me."

He said,

"I know. Neither of us can tell anyone about this."

I said,

"I don't know if I can keep a mistake this stupid to myself, but I'll try. Dez, I want to thank you for standing by me during my abusive relationship."

"You're my friend's sister. Of course I'll stand by you."

He was putting on his clothes and he told me,

"If you need something, just tell me, OK?"

"Thanks, Dez."

I hugged him and he walked out. Dez was all that was on my mind right now. Was I in love with him? No, but I cared about him, he cared about me, he made me laugh and he had been especially nice to me after I told him about how abusive Kevin had been toward me. Not to mention I'd known him for my whole life.

Yes, I was in love with Dez. The next day at school, I saw Summer, listening to her iPod.

"Summer,"

I said.

Summer smiled at me in a friendly way.

"Hey, Leah. Where were you yesterday?"

I said,

"Kevin beat me into a concussion."

Summer said,

"I thought you and your parents filed a restraining order against the douche."

I said,

"We did. But he assaulted me into a concussion."

My best friend of ten years looked at me with sympathy and concern.

"That's awful. Do you need a hug?"

I said,

"Yeah."

She tightly embraced me and told me,

"Honey, it's OK. I'm here for you."

"Thanks, Summer. Anyway, what I wanted to talk to you about is my doctor prescribed me some medical weed, and you remember Trish, the pregnant woman whose boyfriend owns that roller rink we go to with Quinn, Amaya and Claire, from Austin and Ally's engagement party who might be your new adult best friend?"

"Yeah. Son of a bitch I loved her!"

"I know you did. She works as a medical cannabis dealer and she gave me my prescription. Anyway, Dez had been there to follow up with me, and he gave me my dose of medical weed, and we ended up having…."

"Oh my god. You mean, you guys had sex?"

"Yes. And without condoms or any other kind of protection, too. What should I do? I've never panicked this much in my life!"

"Well, first off, calm down."

"How can I?! I can't take care of a baby, I'm only a minor and have three more years of high school to complete and I can't get a job without a work permit! I'm panicking so much right now!"

"You'd be panicking if this was you!"


	18. Chapter 18

**LEAH:**

I told Summer,

"I also think I'm in love with Dez."

My half mexican, half white beside friend smiled encouragingly at me.

"What did I tell you? After you broke up with Kevin, you'd fall in love again."

I smiled,

"And you know what, you were right."

The smile from my face drowned into feelings of guilt and panic.

"But I'm in love with a guy who's the same age as Austin. In fact, Dez is Austin's age, and I worry about how my brother, not to mention my Mom and Dad, will react if they learn that I had sex with a guy who is ten years older than me."

My best friend's face held a concerned look.

"You don't know if you're pregnant. If you're craving junk food, have frequent feelings of nausea, feel cranky or what time does your period come every month?"

"Apparently, it seems to come on the nineteenth day of every month, but sometimes I skip a few months."

I had had my period since I was eleven.

"If you don't get your period after having sex, or have any of the signs I just mentioned, that means you're pregnant."

"Well, I hope none of that happens to me. Because I can't have a baby."

Summer sympathetically put her hand on my shoulder.

"Well, Leah, if you do get pregnant, I support your decision on what to do with the baby."

She reached her arms out. I hugged her, trying my best not to cry. I knew one thing that would happen if I got pregnant with my brother's best friend's baby. I would NOT get an abortion. The thought of abortion was just as heartbreaking as a miscarriage or stillbirth.

It basically meant your life ended before it even began. However, I would either keep my baby or if I couldn't take care of it, I would give it up for adoption. I also wondered how Carrie would react if she learned that Dez had had sex with me. I mean, I had nothing against Carrie, she had a good personality and she was attractive, but sometimes she was a little spacey. Like she got totally drunk at my brother and Ally's engagement party, but I'm going to be honest here. It was pretty funny.

But I suddenly felt sick to my stomach and threw up. The same thing happened during lunch. After I came back from the nearby bathroom, I was groaning in pain.

My best friend asked me,

"First a concussion, now bulimia?"

I said,

"No, Summer. I don't have bulimia. I just felt a little sick."

She grabbed a white klean kanteen water bottle from the pocket of her blue-green cheetah print backpack.

"Here, drink this."

I scarfed down the water quickly.

"Thanks, Summer. Hopefully that was just the nausea effect of my concussion."

Wonderful. Now my breasts were starting to hurt. I mean, I wore a rather small bra, A cup forty to be exact. I felt dizzy again and a shortness of breath and I fainted into my best friend's arms. I thought my concussion may have been starting to get better.

But who the hell was I kidding? Maybe it was coming back.

After school, I had a sudden craving for Haagen Daas chocolate ice cream. I wanted some really badly right now. I remembered I had my wallet on me.

It was one that looked like the flag of London. Not to mention there was a big juicy twenty in it. I ran home, changed into After I paid for six small containers (which was only twelve bucks because it was two dollars a small container), I ran home and stuck them all in the freezer. I ran upstairs and I changed into my pink spaghetti strap top and pajama pants with white hearts and a small white bow on the waist, my coral fleece robe and a pair of white furry ankle boot slippers, and I also grabbed my Disney Princess blanket and my stuffed panda and my old plush Sebastian and Flounder from _The Little Mermaid_ (Yes, I was fourteen and had fifteen plush toys. Half of them were Disney ones, like Sebastian, Flounder, Mickey, Minnie, Eeyore, Marie from _The Aristocats,_ Winnie The Pooh, Piglet, Bambi and Olaf from _Frozen_. That's what you get when your aunt is the manager for Disney World Orlando) Just like my panda, they'd been with me through some really tough times. I guess I was the best substitute for Ariel, wasn't I? I just grabbed the smallest spoon I could find (the smallest spoons make it last longer) and grabbed one of the six ice cream containers and started to dig in. So basically, I was just sitting on the couch, devouring ice cream, under my _Disney Princess_ blanket, with three of my stuffed animals that had helped me get through some of the toughest times of my life, in my pajamas wearing my slippers.

I also decided to see what was on television. I saw that _America's Top Talent_ was on. Austin was the producer of that show, and I wanted to support him. I remember the first time he had auditioned to be on it, he was seventeen, and I was seven, of course he got on! There was another time when him and Ally (They didn't become a couple until they were seventeen, but both Dez and I both knew that he had a crush on her when they first met) were judges on it when they were sixteen and they mentored this girl who was about fourteen or fifteen at the time.

I ate the next four containers of ice cream. I suddenly felt nauseous again. Hopefully that was from the five containers of ice cream I had just consumed. Yet, my craving started acting up again, and I grabbed it. I just heard a door open and close. My father just burst out laughing when he saw me.

"Wow, I've never seen anyone eat that much ice cream since your mother was pregnant with you. Ice cream and spanakopita seemed to be her personal favorites."

I asked,

"What did she crave when she was pregnant with Austin?"

"Oatmeal."

"How's your concussion, sweetie?"

"Better. Or at least I hope it is. Oh, and not that this is relevant, but where's Mom?"

"Your mother is out getting some indian food for dinner and I dropped the car off with her."


	19. Chapter 19

**AUSTIN:**

I was with Ally and her mom drinking wine (Well, water for Penny. She had just taken her pills and according to the bottle, she had to wait at least an hour after taking her pills to drink alcohol) and eating Quiche, grilled asparagus and bread, and I had just fed Gabby and taken her outside to relieve herself. Ally and I would watch porn, but porn in my opinion was kind of awkward to watch with your mother/mother-in-law, but porn was like junk food. It was good in moderation, and besides that was for nights when we wanted to have sex. We did have sex regularly because it brought us even closer than we already were to each other. So instead, the three of us were watching _Death at a Funeral_.

It had been released thirteen years ago, and despite its name, it was a lot funnier than the title suggested. We were at the scene where a guy was slipped drugs under the claim that it was Valium. Penny said to me,

"Austin."

I turned to her.

"Mm-hmm?"

"This quiche is amazing. Did you make it?"

I smiled.

"I wish. It's from a box, actually."

My wife took a sip of her sangria and piped in.

"Mom, you should try his cooking. It's delicious."

I put my arm around my gorgeous bride.

"Aww, wifey."

I gave her a big kiss. She kissed me back. My mother-in-law cooed,

"Aww, look at you two."

I was still cuddling my wife.

"I love Ally, Penny! She's my snookums."

I could hear the jingling of license tags and running. I smiled, knowing who it was. It was the little monster. I could hear my mother in law gasp and coo,

"Hi, sweetums!"

She picked Gabby up and our black and tan canine furball started licking her nose. She looked at us, while clutching our little monster.

"This little baby was in need of a snuggle."

I could tell my mother-in-law loved Gabby almost as much as we did. After all, technically, Penny was her grandmother, because Gabby was technically, our "daughter", despite being us being two different species. But she was an adorable, sweet little monster that we loved to death. One of my favorite pastimes was going in the yard and throwing a stick or ball and she would always bring it back to me.

"She's the best animal friend I never had."

She was licking her face again and Ally took a sip of her wine.

"But mom, there was that tom cat that you and dad adopted when I was a baby."

"Oh, you mean Garry? Yes. But he was grumpy, bad-tempered and he didn't like you very much."

I was outraged. I always got mad when people said mean things about Ally. Like I remember one of haters leaving a rude comment on Instagram of her in her wedding dress. He said that she looked like a flea market prostitute in it. She looked nothing like a hooker in her wedding dress.

She looked like a princess in her white strapless puffy gown with jeweling and her diamond tiara. Admittedly, I didn't kiss her after she was under a sleeping curse by an evil fairy or after she bit a poisoned apple or bring her a glass slipper. But we had been in love since our sophomore year of high school and we were going to die in each other's arms and be buried next to each other. I suddenly felt my phone vibrating in my pocket. It was Leah.

"Can I talk to you?"

My gut instinct was telling me that my sister was in pain. Willing to help her, I texted saying,

"Sure."

"I'm outside of your house right now."

I walked outside, I saw her sitting on the bench on my front porch, with tears in her eyes, surrounded by three bags. Good thing she was wearing a heavy jacket, it was really nippy outside.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

I asked her.

"Talk to me."

She wiped her eyes and sobbed.

"I did something really stupid the other day."

I smiled sympathetically.

"It's OK. Everyone makes mistakes."

"Well, mine might define the rest of my life."

"Just tell me."

"Dez came up to our house to check on me, and I eventually had sex with him."

Why would Dez, a twenty-four-year-old adult, be lusting after my fourteen-year-old sister? I had always thought he was this kindhearted, if a bit on the eccentric side, kind of guy. Was he a pedophile?

"Whose idea was it?"

"It was mine. I was so stoned from my medical pot that I ended up having sex with him. Go ahead. Yell at me, blame me. I deserve it."

I said,

"No. No, no, no, no, no. I won't blame you. Dez was the adult in this situation, and you're a minor."

"But it was my idea…"

sobbed my sister.

"Are you in love with Dez?"

"Yeah. He was so kind to me during my circumstances with Kevin."

I was a little confused.

"When you and Dez made love, did you use condoms or any other kind of contraception?"

She sobbed,

"No. And I took a pregnancy test the other day, and it was positive. Plus, I was feeling lots of nausea, craving ice cream and my breasts were sore."

I asked,

"Do Mom and Dad know?"

I sniffled,

"No. I took a pregnancy test two days ago and I found out I was positive so I ran away because I was scared of how they would react if I told them I had sex with a full grown man."

"They're probably worried about you."

"It's better than them finding out about me doing such a stupid thing. Austin, can I live with you?"

I smiled.

"Sure. If you need a place to sleep, we have the guest room. But Mom and Dad will need to know about your pregnancy sooner or later."


	20. Chapter 20

**LEAH:**

I was so grateful that Austin was letting me stay with him. Having that said, he was right. I did need to tell my parents about what happened with Dez. But I was so scared of how they would react. I had always been the "stay-out-of-trouble" kind of child (Though don't misinterpret that. Just because I was compliant and well-mannered didn't mean I didn't make mistakes every now and then. My parents said it was because they introduced me to discipline when I was as young as seventeen months old).

But if I came clean that I had went all the way with Dez and now was knocked up with his baby- my god was I cruising for a bruising, up a creek without a paddle, skating on thin ice- well, you get the idea. I had stopped crying when Austin had held me for about ten minutes.

He smiled at me.

"Come on inside, I don't want to leave you outside in the cold alone."

He had some muscle so he picked up two of my bags that I had packed with my clothes and toiletries. I picked up two of mine that I had packed up with my books and some of my old stuffed toys to remind me of my childhood and to comfort me during the tough times and of course, my backpack so I could do my homework. I had a very high grade point average and I wanted to maintain that.

"Austin, I don't want to impose, but is there anywhere I can sleep?"

He smiled.

"Well, Leah, Ally's mom Penny just moved in with us because surrounding her surgery, she was having financial troubles, and she's sleeping in the in-law bedroom. But in the downstairs living room, we have a pullout couch, and you can sleep there."

"Thanks, Austin. I really appreciate it."

"What else is family for?"

He hugged me and kissed my cheek.

He got my bags into the in-law living room. I said,

"I'll be up in a few minutes. I'm just going to change into my pajamas."

He said,

"OK. I'm upstairs with Ally, Gabby and Penny if you need me."

"Thanks."

I undressed and got into my pajamas- a silk cheetah print camisole and pants and I put on my white furry slippers. I changed my earrings from my small gold hoop earrings to a pair of gold posts with white diamond studs and I tied my hair into a high ponytail. I laid out my gray furry sleeping bag and laid my Disney Princess blanket over it, and I laid my pink and white eye pillow with black mascara'd eyelashes sleeping on it on the coffee table and got my Panda, my Marie doll, Mickey and Minnie, Sebastian, Flounder, my stuffed dog that kind looked a little like Gabby and a black and white stuffed cat. I walked upstairs to join my brother, his wife and his mother-in-law and his puppy.

"Hey, guys,"

I smiled sadly.

Ally and Penny were very welcoming towards me. I knew Penny well, and I knew Lester, Ally's dad, moderately well. He was generally a nice guy, if a little eccentric, and he seemed to have a good relationship with Austin. Like my dad liked Kevin, but only until Kevin started to treat me poorly.

Ally gave me a kind smile.

"Hi, Leah."

I smiled sadly at her.

"Hey, Ally."

"You remember my mother Penny, right?"

"Yeah. Hi, Ms. Dawson."

Ally's mom smiled at me warmly.

"Hi, Leah. I want to say that I'm really sorry. Austin and Ally have told me about everything you've been going through. Your ex-boyfriend shaming you and berating you and beating you into a concussion."

"It's totally fine, Ms. Dawson. It's not your fault."

My sister-in-law's mother held out her arms.

"Do you need a hug, sweetheart?"

I said,

"That would be great."

I came over and tightly embraced her.

"And I want to know, how have you been doing since your surgery?"

"Well, I was sick with diverticulitis a lot, and I had to get surgery that was quite expensive, and my bills were upping. Austin and Ally were very kind and generous to let me live with them."

I said,

"They're my brother and sister-in-law and I love them both to death."

Ally gushed.

"Aww, Leah. We love you, too."

She hugged me and kissed the side of my head.

"Also, I got medical weed from Trish for my treatment…."

I started to say.

"Doctor's order, right? Because Trish can't be selling weed to minors without notes from doctors, parents or guardians."

"That's OK. Austin brought me and I got a note from my mom. Anyway, after he and Gabby dropped me off, Dez came over to check on me, and he gave me my weed. After I did, I was so stoned that I ended up having sex with him."

She asked me,

"Did you use protection?"

I said,

"No, and I just found out I-I'm pregnant with his baby. I feel like such a whore."

"Don't ever say that about yourself. You are not a whore."

She smoothed my hair.

"I can't even look my parents in the face and tell them, because I'm scared to death of how they'll react."

"Leah, Dez was the adult in this situation, and what he did to you was illegal."

I said,

"No, Ally. It wasn't his fault. I was stoned on my medical marijuana, and when people are stoned, they do stupid things."

My brother's mother-in-law piped in.

"You know, honey, marijuana doesn't always cause people to get loopy. When I was about sixteen, I remember one of my old girlfriends had it with them, and she dared me to smoke it, and I did. After I smoked it, I felt really nervous and I didn't know why. I was a teenager in the late seventies, early eighties, and back then, underage drinking and smoking weed and nicotine were kind of considered cool. But I don't think it's cool at all."

I said,

"Oh, Penny, please don't tell me you did heroin or cocaine, too."

Penny said,

"Goodness, no. Those just destroy your life. And the same with ecstasy and meth. Plus, smoking is the most horrible thing you can do to yourself. My father died of lung cancer when I was twenty because he smoked three packs a day since he was nineteen. If he was alive today, he would be just reaching his ninetieth birthday."

"I'm glad my pot was given to me by my doctor. But still, I lost my virginity to a guy in his twenties and I got pregnant with his baby."

Ally asked me,

"What do you plan to do with the baby?"

I said,

"Well, Ally, I have to carry him or her first, and I'll either decide between putting them up for adoption or keeping him or her. But I will not get an abortion."

"Good you have a plan in place."

I heard trotting and license tags jingling. It was probably Gabby. She came trotting over, obviously very excited to see me.

"Hey, Gabby!"

I said.

I picked her up and she started licking my face.

"You're such a little sweetie. Yes you are. Yes you are."

I wished I could have a dog like Gabby. She was cute, cuddly and a little sweetie pie.

While I snuggled my brother's puppy and kissed her forehead, I stared at a beautiful silver metal frame on the nightstand. It had a photo of my brother and Ally with Isabella (Austin was cradling in her in his arms and she was sleeping) and Ally was smiling at her. It had a cross on the top, and in gray, it had the message, " _Godparents are a gift from above, showering their godchild with never ending love_ by the little picture. Under the picture it said in the same color and font, _Isabella Guadalupe Athena Dillon, baptized on September 26, 2020._


	21. Chapter 21

**AUSTIN:**

I didn't understand why Dez, who was an adult, had found it in himself to have sex with my sister, who was a minor and even got her pregnant. I wanted to find out more about this. I went over to his apartment and knocked on the door, having Carrie answer it. Dez and Carrie, even though they broke up six years ago, were still close friends, and they lived together as roommates and were friends with benefits.

She smiled at me with her usual upbeat attitude.

"Hey, Austin. I was just on my way to work. What's up?"

I said,

"Hey, Carrie. Is Dez here? I need to talk to him."

"Oh, yeah. Dezzy!"

"Here I am, Carrie. Oh, hey, Austin!"

Carrie said to him,

"He says he needs to talk to you. I'll see you tonight."

Dez smiled at her,

"Kay, I'll see you then."

They hugged and Carrie was out the door. I sat down with Dez in him and Carrie's room.

"OK, what was it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

I asked,

"Dez, are you a pedophile?"

Dez seemed outraged.

"No! Austin Moon, my own best friend, why the hell would you consider me a pedophile?"

I said,

"Leah told me she ran away from home because she had sex with you and she discovered she was pregnant with your baby."

"What?"

"Yeah. You knocked my sister up, and now she's just conceived your baby. Tell me the truth, Dez. Are you attracted to my little sister?"

There was a terrible silence that collapsed over Dez.

"Are you attracted to Leah, yes or no?"

Dez said to me,

"I don't know. I still really like Carrie…."

"But you, in a way, cheated on her with a minor. Why?"

Dez said to me,

"I had given her her dose of medical weed and one of the symptoms of being under the influence of marijuana is being horny."

"Yes, I'm well aware of that. But Leah has barely finished high school, and you are old enough to know that sex with a minor is against the law."

"Austin, I thought you were my friend, now you're accusing me of being a child molester?!

"Don't put words in my mouth."

"You know what- leave my house! You and I are done! I can't believe you'd accuse me of being a pedophile?!"

I said,

"Works for me!"

I left the Wade-Lainfield residence in frustration. All that was passing through my mind were anger and confusion. I couldn't believe Dez was a pedophile and trying to deny it, even worse. I thought he was my best friend. I hadn't been in a fight with him this bad since we were about fifteen and he somehow managed to get marijuana and I was in his room with him, and his parents came in and smelled the weed.

He told his parents that I was the one smoking it so he wouldn't get in trouble. His parents told my parents and they searched my bedroom high and low for marijuana and even installed hidden cameras in my room. Him and I didn't talk to each other for three days. I didn't even know what was worse- him being an adult and lusting over my fourteen-year-old baby sister, who had been through enough in the past like six months and getting her pregnant, or getting me in trouble with my parents and his parents all because he did something he knew he shouldn't be and not wanting to get caught red-handed. I had no work today so I just lounged on the couch, grabbed some eggo toaster pancakes (Pancakes had been my favorite food since I was a kid) and two bottles of Jack Daniels and plopped down on my couch.

I knew that I would become intoxicated eventually from drinking two whole bottles of whiskey, but I was too upset with my ex-best friend to even give a rat's ass. When I was done with my pancakes, I could hear some trotting followed by some jingling. It was Gabby. She looked at me, sympathetically. I said to her,

"Come here, Gabby."

I picked her up and I plopped her next to me. I looked her in her big brown puppy dog eyes and I said to her,

"Come here, sweetie pie. Daddy's going through a tough time and needs a cuddle."

Gabby licked my face. Cuddling with my black and tan cavapoo canine was kind of making me feel better. She was the closest thing that my wife and I had to a baby and I loved her to death. She licked my face and I scratched her back.

"At least you'll never betray me. I know you probably can't understand what I'm saying to you, but you and I love each other all the same."

I suddenly felt something warm and wet on my lap. I didn't know what it was, but it was coming from Gabby. She was peeing on my lap. I said in a baby voice,

"Gabby! You little monster!"

I changed into some new pants and put my ones with dog piss into the wash. When she came back, she was giving me her puppy dog eyes. I guess that was her way of saying,

"I'm sorry I peed in your lap, Daddy. Do you still love me?"

I smiled at her.

"It's OK, babycakes. Daddy will love you no matter what."

I picked her up and started to give her kisses and she gave me kisses, too.


	22. Chapter 22

**LEAH:**

Once again, I saw Summer applying her makeup at her locker. I said to her,

"Summer, can I talk to you?"

She put her eyeshadow pallette down and attentively looked at me.

"Leah, what kind of best friend would I be if I didn't let you tell me anything?"

I said,

"Good point. What I want to tell you is my fears of becoming pregnant came true."

Summer looked concerned.

"What do you plan to do with the baby?"

I said,

"I plan to either keep the baby or give him or her up for adoption. But I will NOT get an abortion."

"Do your mom and dad know?"

"No. I ran away from home after taking a pregnancy test. I worried about what my parents would think. So I'm temporarily living with Austin."

"At least you're not living out on the street. It's not as safe as some people might think."

My best friend of eleven years had never been more right. You never knew who could be a pedophile, a thug, a drug addict or a con-artist in this city. I mean, I didn't live in a particularly sketchy neighborhood, but still.

"And if you were, I would have loaned you my taser gun that my dad gave me."

Summer's dad, being a cop, had given her, her mom, her sister and even her brother taser guns for their own safety. I didn't know what the legal age for carrying ammunition or other weapons was, but at least they'd be safe. My best friend looked at me sympathetically.

"I'm sorry you're pregnant."

I sighed sadly.

"At least Kevin's not the baby's father."

Unfortunately, Summer's and my worst enemy since kindergarten, Barbara Bryant, had overheard our conversation. That bitch had no other way to live her life besides making mine and Summer's lives miserable. She was classist, mean, snobby, rude, and bullied anyone she felt like- usually because they were "geeks", "whores," "virgins", "fugly" or "poor" (According to her, I was four out of five of the above). Her family was rich because they both owned eight successful and huge law firms here in Miami and in Tampa, and she was spoiled, selfish and snobby. She was looking at us and grinning condescendingly.

"Well, well, well, Leah, you're pregnant, huh? You're the youngest slut I've ever met."

I was too weak and vulnerable unlike my best friend to stand up for myself. Summer stood toward her.

"Shut your mouth, Barbara. Leah's going through enough and doesn't need your help."

"Oh I think she does. Just wait."

Barbara smiled in a devious way and picked up a megaphone that I guessed Mr. Conley left on the floor and announced,

"Attention, everyone! I have the hottest dirt on Leah Moon! You know, Austin Moon's baby sister? She has had sex with two guys and one of them got her pregnant. Can you say slutty ho any other way?"

She smiled like the wicked witch (and the word that rhymed with witch) she was. Everyone could hear it, and her two friends, who were almost as catty, mean and awful as her, Cheryl Lounge and Dominique George, laughed at me.

"Your brother must think you're a disgrace to the Moon family name."

I said to her,

"Barbara, I'll have you know, my brother Austin loves me and has always encouraged me. Now don't malign me or my family."

The rest of my day was underscored by everyone calling me "ho", "whore" and "slutbag" all day. I went to my brother's house and sat on the couch, weeping profusely. I had never been so mortified in my whole life. I eventually heard a door open and close, followed by a voice saying,

"Hello!"

An Ally voice. In attempt to conceal my pain, I shuddered and I said,

"In the den, Ally."

My sister-in-law walked in and smiled in a friendly way,

"Hi, Leah."

She eventually saw me and noticed I had been crying. She sat beside me and put her arm around me sympathetically.

"Were you crying, Leah?"

I knew my attempts to mask my hurt feelings were obviously failing, and lying about your problems doesn't solve anything. I sniffled and said,

"Yeah."

My sister-in-law looked concerned for me.

"Talk to me. I'm here for you."

I sniffled and sobbed.

"I was talking to Summer about how I was pregnant, and this girl who has bullied me for years was eavesdropping, spilled that I had sex with Dez and Kevin and called me a slutty ho in front of the whole school."

"You didn't have sex with Kevin."

I said,

"I know. I technically did, because I was raped."

Ally joined hands with me. Her hands were surprisingly warm, I didn't even know why.

"When Trish went through your experience seven years ago, a lot of people at school called her a slut and a whore."

"That must have been really awful for her."

"It was. In fact, Brad, the man who raped her, didn't just rape her, he sent her text messages threatening her to send him naked pictures of herself, he was stalking her, he kidnapped her and he assaulted her. She was very scared and crying for days."

I said,

"Poor Trish. That's worse than what Kevin did to me."


	23. Chapter 23

**LEAH:**

After a pep talk with Ally, I was starting to feel better. I latched onto her and tightly clung to her and she did the same.

"Ally,"

I said,

"You're a very caring person."

She smiled at me.

"Well, that's the Ally Dawson-Moon dynamic. I care about other people."

I could hear license tag jingling and running from the distance. I knew who it was. It was the little tan and black furry canine, Gabby. She saw me and was barking with excitement and swaying her paws. I cooed,

"Hey, puppy!"

I picked her up and she licked my face.

"Awww, you were so excited to see me."

Gabby was licking my face again. I wished I had a dog as cute as her.

"You're a little sweetie pie, yes you are."

I scratched her belly. The puppy continued licking my face. I eventually handed her to Ally and she was cooing,

"Hi, sweetie."

Gabby was licking Ally very rapidly.

"Who's mommy's little snugglebug?"

Snuggling Gabby in her arms and scratching her tummy, my sister-in-law turned to me.

"Leah, your brother is going out with your dad to a bar, and I have plans with Trish tonight, where she's going to come over and we're just going to have dinner, drinks and watch a movie. Do you want to join?"

That sounded like a good idea.

I said,

"OK. What are we having?"

"I'm ordering pizza from Pizza Johnny's."

I said,

"Oh my god I love that place! I've been going there since I was about two. In fact, here's a video that my mom shot of Austin and I when my dad was in Philadelphia for his college reunion and we were saying hi to him. I was three and he was thirteen at the time."

I pulled out my phone and showed my sister-in-law.

 _11 years ago_

I was at Pizza Johnny's with my mom and brother. My dad was in Philadelphia for his college reunion (he was University of Pennsylvania class of 1991) and my mom had asked us,

"Should we send a video to your father?"

We both were extremely excited by the idea. My mom turned her phone on video and smiled,

"Hi, Mike! We miss you and we can't wait for you to come home! Here are the kids because they want to say hi."

She turned it to us and Austin had said,

"Hi, Dad! I miss you!"

I had said,

"Hi, Daddy! I miss you! I'm growing!"

My brother pointed to my top, which was a light green tank top with Tinkerbell on it and asked me,

"Who's on your shirt, Leah?"

I had looked down at my stomach for a minute.

"Who is that?"

I said,

"Tinkerbell."

He said,

"It _is_ Tinkerbell. You like Tinkerbell?"

I had said,

"Yeah."

He then pointed to my insulated sippy cup that had Dora dressed like a mermaid and it had a pink top, a blue top and an orange straw.

"And who's on your sippy cup?"

I said,

"It Dora!"

My mom had asked,

"Do we have anything we want to share with Daddy tonight?"

I remember Austin had said,

"Well, during home economics today, Dez picked up some kale and was putting it in his mouth, pretending it was marijuana and he was pretending to get stoned. And everybody laughed."

I asked,

"What's Marijuana?"

He had said to me,

"Marijuana is a rare candy that you only find where Dora The Explorer is from."

My mom had said,

"She's three years old, Austin. Do you think she's old enough to know what marijuana is? What about you, Leah? Why don't you share with Daddy where you went with preschool?"

I had said,

"I go to museum."

"Yeah, you did. You had a field trip to the Miami Children's Museum. Mommy came, too. Did you have fun today?"

"Yeah!"

"What was your favorite part?"

"Sketch Aquarium."

"You though it was cool?"

"Yeah."

I had asked my mom,

"Mommy, coloring book, please."

"Oh, you want your coloring book and crayons? OK."

She pulled out my box of 16 crayons and my light blue coloring/sticker book with fireworks, the Disney Princess logo, and it had Jasmine, Belle, Aurora, Cinderella, Ariel and Snow White wearing tiaras and their outfits were sparkly and it said Perfect Princesses in purple. I grabbed a red, purple and green crayon and started coloring.

"Leah, what are you doing?"

"I'm coloring Ariel, Mommy,"

I said promptly.

"Why don't you show Mommy how you color?"

I picked it up and showed her.

"It Ariel!"

I announced with evident pride.

"You colored so nicely, sweetie. I'm sure Daddy likes to see that."

 _Back to present_

The video ended.

Ally rolled her eyes and giggled.

"Oh, Dez. He's always had a dirty mind."

I said,

"But about eight years from then, I officially learned what marijuana was."

"Too bad him and Austin aren't talking to each other."

I asked,

"What do you mean?"

Ally said to me,

"Austin thought that Dez raped you and it sparked a big fight between them."

I said,

"That's awful."

Ally said,

"That's why he's going to a bar with your dad."

I said,

"Ally, I'm scared. What if he comes clean to my dad that I had sex with Dez and had his baby?"

My sister-in-law smiled encouragingly.

"Don't worry, Leah. You'll be fine. And maybe it's for the best if your parents know. You can't keep a secret that big from them."

I said,

"Maybe you're right, Ally. I have tonight to look forward to, anyway."

Ally smiled.

"Way to stay positive."

She hugged me and kissed my cheek.

Later, the doorbell rang and as if on cue, it was Trish.

"Yo yo!"

Ally cheerfully exclaimed,

"Hey, Trish!"

I heard Trish mock a cockney accent.

"I brought a long two friends with me."

I walked up to see Trish pull out two bottles from her large cheetah print satchel.

"Sangria and Chardonnay."

She noticed me and smiled.

"Hey, Leah."

I said,

"Oh, hey, Trish."

"I hope you don't mind. Ally invited me."

Trish smiled.

"Oh, hell no. I don't mind. You're my best friend's sister and sister-in-law!"

I said,

"Thanks."

I hugged her.

Later, when the pizza and ceasar from Pizza Johnny's had arrived, Trish asked me,

"Leah,"

"How's your medical marijuana working out for you?"

I dared not tell her how it made me horny for Dez.

I lied,

"Oh, well, it's turning out great."

Trish sighed in relief.

"That's good. Because Marijuana in large doses is addictive and can often dangerous."

I decided to brighten up this conversation a little.

"So, Trish, what do you think of medical school?"

Trish took another sip of Sangria.

"It's a lot of work, but it's easy, and not to brag about myself, but my professors say I do exceptional. So how my day works is I work from nine to two, and I have classes from three to six."

"Where's Bella in the mix of it all?"

"Jace works from nine to five, so I leave Bella with my mom. I just feel like she's not old enough for me to put her in day care."

"Come to think of it, where is she?"

"She's with Jace at my apartment with his parents, John and Agnes."


	24. Chapter 24

**AUSTIN:**

So tonight, I was at The Mighty, this restaurant and bar, with my dad. I had been going through a hard time these past few days, Dez violating Leah and then denying it. Three years ago on my twenty-first birthday, I had gone there with Ally and my parents. I had ordered a chicken sandwich, the mighty caesar salad and a bottle of Jack Daniels. My dad had ordered the exact same thing.

He took a sip of his whiskey, and said to me,

"Austin, you know Leah's been missing for a week now. Do you have any idea where she might have gone?"

I said,

"As we speak, she's staying with Ally and I, sleeping in our in-law living room, near Ally's mom, who is living with us. She ran away because she said she did something she deeply regrets."

I took another sip of my whiskey.

"What was it she did?"

I said,

"Leah's going to feel like I'm betraying her if she finds out I told you this, but you know she was given medical weed for her concussion, right?"

My dad said,

"Yeah."

"While she said that Dez had come over to check on her, he had given her her weed, and she ended up having unprotected sex with him, and she ran away because she found out she was pregnant."

My dad looked concerned.

"Why would your sister keep something so big from us?"

I said,

"She told me that she ran away because she was afraid of how you and Mom might react. I've seen what happens with adolescent girls who become sexually active and end up getting pregnant."

"Did she say whether it was consensual or not?"

"She said it was consensual, but Dez is my age. Which basically means, he's an adult, Leah's a minor."

My dad said,

"That you're right about, son."

I said,

"Him and I also kind of got into a fight about it the other day. I was even madder at him than the time when we were fifteen and he somehow acquired marijuana and was smoking it in his room. His parents walked in, smelled it, and asked if he was smoking it. He was so afraid of getting in trouble that he said that I was smoking the pot."

"Yeah. Donna and Dennis thought you were secretly a pothead and they begged us to search your bedroom for marijuana. That fight you guys had lasted a whole week. But you guys made up when he came clean to his parents and was grounded for three weeks."

I said,

"It's just I don't know what was worse- him blaming me from smoking weed in his bedroom or potentially violating Leah and getting her pregnant. I mean, Leah's been through enough in the past like six months with Kevin's physical and verbal abuse. Until like two months ago, she was living in fear of him."

"I'm glad she's safe, but your mother and I have been worried sick about her. If she didn't come and stay with you and Ally, she could have gotten so much worse."

"I know, I know. There are people out there who are not as safe as they look. They do drugs, they rape people, they assault people….. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if she was in that circumstance."

He pulled out his phone, showing a picture of Leah in her pajamas and robe, with some of her plush toys and six containers of ice cream, in front of the television.

"Wow."

"I hadn't seen anybody eat that much ice cream since your mom was pregnant with her. Her favorite pregnancy foods were ice cream and spanakopita. Are you and Ally considering having kids of your own?"

I said,

"We've been discussing it, and we can most definitely support them. And, not that you need to know this, but we're sexually active, too."

"Well, your mother and I are ready anytime for grandkids."

"You're going to get a granddaughter or grandson in a couple months. Because Leah's conceived a baby with Dez."

"Are you mad at him?"

"I was at first, because I thought he raped my sister, but I feel guilty that I didn't understand was happening and I kind of overreacted, which I regret."

"You OK, son?"

"I'm fine. I just like feel like a total asshat."

"Austin, you're not an asshat. You make mistakes. You're an adult, you're married, you and Ally are both rich and successful, and you make your own decisions."

"But if I make big decisions, I always let Ally know about them first. She's my wife and she'd get on my ass if I did them without telling her. Because we earn the money to pay our bills and buy things we need."

"You do. And my point earlier is that just because you're a grown-up now doesn't mean you stop making mistakes and learning."

"I guess you're right, Dad."

I hugged him. In the morning, I went to Dez's apartment to talk to him. I knocked on his door.

"Hey, Austin,"

he said to me, forlornly.

"Hey, Dez. Can I talk to you?"

He sighed,

"Sure. But I came clean to Carrie about having sex with your sister, and she moved out. Go ahead. Say I deserved it."

I said,

"I'm not going to say you deserved it. You must be really hurt by it. I also wanted to apologize for lashing out at you the other day. I just felt bad for my sister and wanted to protect her."

He smiled,

"It's totally alright, buddy. I'm also sorry I went behind your back."

"Hug?"

"Hug."

I man hugged my best friend since I was in kindergarten. It felt amazing to make up with him. There was no one like who made me laugh so damn hard, no one who was as happy, go-lucky and no one who looked on the bright side like he did. Admittedly, he acted like a moron sometimes, but he was my moron.


	25. Chapter 25

**AUSTIN:**

Nothing I liked better than time with my wife. Right now, the two of us were in our bed (with Sergeant Bearington and Gabby joining us) and Ally was in her bra and underwear and I was in boxers and we decided to watch porn together. We had some porn films on our netflix. We weren't perverts, we just were adults and needed our intimate time together, and porn was just the thing we needed to get in the mood (The porn exactly was _Two girls and a guy_ ). Porn was one of the top things that we watched on Netflix, besides _Peanuts_ (You gotta love those cute little kids, Snoopy, Woodstock, even though you couldn't help but feel sympathy for Charlie Brown. Everyone was a jerk to him. Especially Lucy. She was the one character who got on my nerves. Not just because she was self-centered, mean and narcissistic, and the way she hit on Schroeder, the kid on the piano who worshipped Beethoven, was kind of escort-like and made me feel uncomfortable), _Harry Potter_ , _Percy Jackson_ , _Despicable Me_ , Judd Apatow films, _Twilight_ , _The Hunger Games_ , Films based on young adult novels like _The Fault in our Stars_ , _Paper Towns_ , _Me & Earl & The Dying Girl _and _The perks of being a wallflower_ , _The Muppets_ movies (My first movie in the theater was _Muppets from Space_ , when I was three. I saw it with my dad, my paternal Uncle Scott, and his three children, my cousins Cecelia, she went by Cece, who was ten at the time, Logan, the only son of my

Uncle Scott and Aunt Leticia, who was seven at the time, and Jasmine, who was five at the time), Disney (The classic animated ones that were from my parents,' my in-laws' and even grandparents' childhood. And for our honeymoon, Ally and I went to Disneyland in Los Angeles. We met Jasmine and Aladdin, Mickey and Minnie and Cinderella and Prince Charming. Best week of our lives. The ones from the 2010's like _Tangled, Big Hero 6_ , _Wreck It-Ralph_ and _Frozen_ were great, too, but the oldest ones were the best. The pixar ones and the Disney Channel ones were awesome, too), episodes of _Friends_ , _Seinfeld_ , _Ben & Kate_, _Big Bang Theory_ , _Two and a half men_ , _Glee_ (we both loved music), _Pretty Little Liars_ , _Vampire Diaries_ , _90210_ , _Degrassi_ , _Modern Family_ , _South Park_ , _Family Guy_ , _The Cleveland Show_ , _Once upon a time_ , _The Walking Dead_ , _The Simpsons_ , _Two broke girls_ , _Switched at Birth, The Fosters_ , _Gossip Girl_ , _How I met your mother_ , _Married with children_ and also the shows from our childhood. Our first date, in fact, was to see _The Woman in Black_. Ally was terrified and I was snuggling her the whole time.

I snuggled up to her and kissed her cheek. I whispered to her,

"I love you, honey."

She whispered,

"Love you too, Austin,"

and she kissed my cheek.

"So, how's your new makeup line coming?"

"Amazing! I love my job almost as much as I love you, Austin."

I blushed.

"Awww. Sweetheart, I've told you about a million times that you don't need makeup to beautiful. You're already gorgeous!"

"Aww, you!"

We kissed passionately. I whispered,

"Want to go all the way?"

We had the lights off, but the television, from the porn we were watching, cast enough light to see her obviously enthusiastic smile.

"Oh yeah."

I decided to talk to suggestively to her since tonight was one of our sex nights.

"You have been a very naughty girl. I'm going to have to punish you."

She laughed.

"That's right. I'm a bad, bad girl who needs to be punished."

"I know just how I'm going to punish you,"

I said, smiling suggestively.

"I'm taking away your bra, Allison Willow Moon. You'll get it back when you learn to stop being so sexy."

She unhooked her bra and let it fall to the floor.

"Oh, baby, did I mention you have a great haircut?"

"Oh, honey. Many times. But I never get tired of your compliments."

My hairstylist was Steph at Sport Clips. She always did a damn good job when it came to cutting and styling hair. Anyway, Ally sunk down closer to me under the covers and I took her underpants off and she took mine off and I threw them on the floor. After twenty minutes, we had finally stopped going all the way. I said to my wife,

"Something really amazing happened today."

My wife sat up, holding the blanket, comforter and sheet on herself, covering everything except her shoulders, and asked,

"What happened?"

I said,

"I made up with Dez."

She sounded very happy.

"That's amazing!"

I said,

"I know! He's been my best friend for almost twenty years!"

"You and Dez hadn't been in a fight that big since tenth grade when Dez was smoking pot in his bedroom and when his parents came in, he panicked and said you were the one smoking it."

I said,

"Oh, yeah. I don't know how he became addicted to marijuana, but at least he became clean within a year."

"Yeah. Thank goodness."

"It's funny. Now we have two friends who use marijuana."

I said,

"Who's the second… Oh yeah, Trish. Except she doesn't use it. She sells medical marijuana. If she actually smoked it, CPS would magically show up and put Bella in foster care."

Ally asked,

"What about Jace?"

I said,

"He seems perfectly clean and sober. They both do. Trish and Jace are undeniably amazing parents. Not just because they made us Bella's godparents. We love that baby to death."

My wife laughed.

"No question about it, Austin. No question about it."


	26. Chapter 26

I was now eighteen weeks pregnant, living back at home and because Carrie had moved out, I had convinced them to let Dez stay with us. They said that that was OK, just as long as I didn't have anymore unprotected sex with him (My parents started to buy me condoms when I was twelve because I was reaching the age where I was started to like boys and they never knew when I could become sexually active). He was my new boyfriend, too, and I was happy. He was a better boyfriend than Kevin ever was. He was sweet, considerate, caring and waited on me hand and foot (Although I didn't treat him like a servant) and he made me laugh.

We actually had a doctor's appointment today. We were going to see what sex our little bundle of joy was.

Dez asked me,

"You ready to go, Princess?"

I said,

"Yup."

I got my shoes and a jacket on and my new boyfriend was patiently waiting for me by the stairs.

"Here. Get in my arms."

I said,

"OK."

He carried me downstairs and into his car, which was a white mercedes benz. I liked mercedes cars. They were cool how they had a phone built into the car so if you needed to make a call, you could do it without getting pulled over by a police officer. I was also glad that Austin and Dez had made up. He and Ally also were very excited to be getting a new niece or nephew.

At the doctor, I got changed into the gown and the nurse put the gel on my stomach. I asked,

"Dez? Can you hold my hand?"

He smiled.

"Not that I'd have any objection to holding my girlfriend's hand, but is the gel cold?"

I said,

"You're one sharp ginger snap."

Ginger was a nickname for him because he had red hair. He grabbed my hand.

The nurse asked me,

"How old are you, sweetheart?"

I said,

"Fourteen."

Dez piped in.

"I'm her boyfriend. I'm twenty-four."

He laughed nervously.

The nurse put the wand on my stomach.

"Eighteen weeks, is that correct?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"Your fluids look good. The baby is fifteen centimeters. And you're having a girl."

I was covering my mouth, tears of happiness.

"Let me take a couple of pictures, OK, sweetie?"

"OK."

After getting the pictures of our baby girl's embryo back, Dez handed my clothes- bra, underwear and all. He helped me stand up.

"I can't believe I've known you since you were a baby, and now we're having a baby together."

I said,

"I know it's crazy!"

Dez knew how to support the baby. He was going back to school at Miami University to study for his degree in directing, which had always been his dream, and he did technical support and was a salesman at the apple store. He was good with that stuff. But on the other hand, I needed a job, too.

Hot Topic was just the place. Summer and I went shopping there a lot. Hot Topic was her favorite store, besides H&M, Juicy Couture, Forever 21, Wet Seal, Charming Charlie, basically any store with clothing. Dez and I heard a baby crying down the hall, followed by a familiar voice saying,

"Shhh, Bella, It's OK. Mommy's right here."

A Trish voice. She was with Jace and Bella, Jace pushing the stroller while she was rocking Bella in her arms. Dez, holding my hand, decided to go over and say hi, and I decided to go with him. Trish and Jace were my friends, and I wanted to meet little Isabella.

"Hey, Jace. Hey, Trish."

They both smiled in a friendly way.

"Hey, Leah."

I asked,

"Is this Bella?"

Trish, cradling the hysterically crying baby in her arms, answered,

"Yeah."

I asked Jace,

"Jace, why is she crying?"

Jace told me,

"She had to get vaccinated six times. She didn't like it."

Trish reached into her pink Juicy Couture diaper bag and pulled a light green pacifier with a red handle and a light pink bunny blanket, stuck the binky in Bella's mouth and handed her the blanket. She finally stopped crying.

Her Mexican mother and white father sighed in relief.

I looked them in the eyes.

"Can I hold Bella?"

Trish smiled.

"Sure, Leah."

Trish handed me her baby. I rocked her in my arms.

"Hi, girl. Hi, Bella."

Bella started to snuggle on my shoulder. I put one hand on the back of her head, spreading out my fingers on the back of her head, and my other hand on her bottom.

Trish picked out her iPhone and with her _Aladdin_ case on it. Jace took out his silver iPhone 6 Plus with a dark blue and light green otterbox case and they each took a picture of me holding Isabella.

Jace smiled at me.

"Leah, you're going to be an amazing mom someday."

I said,

"Funny you say that, Jace. I'm actually eighteen weeks pregnant with a baby girl."

Trish said,

"Wow, fourteen and pregnant, huh? Who's the baby's father?"

Dez smiled.

"I am, Trish."

I handed Bella back to Jace and he put her back into the stroller, covering her with a pink _Winnie The Pooh_ blanket, with Trish handing her her personalized Bella Bunny blanket.

"You guys are dating?"

Trish asked.

"Is Austin OK with this?"

I said,

"Yeah."


	27. Chapter 27

**LEAH:**

I was snuggled up with my boyfriend on my bed. Dez asked me,

"Have you been thinking about baby names at all?"

I said,

"Yes. In fact I have. Tell me what you think of this name. Lanessa."

"Isn't that a medicine that treats insomnia?"

I laughed. My boyfriend was so funny.

"That's _Lunesta_."

"Oh right."

I snuggled up closer to him and he kissed the top of my head. I felt her kicking.

"She's kicking,"

I said.

Dez put his hand to my belly.

"She is. I remember when your mom was pregnant with you. You would kick inside of her like nobody's business."

I laughed.

"So what names do you like?"

"Madeline."

"Lanessa Madeline Wade?"

My cute ginger boyfriend smiled at me.

"I love it."

We started kissing passionately again and I took off his light blue casual button down shirt and he took off my top, being a pink racerback tank top that said _I just want you_ in black letters and it had a black arrow pointing to the right and my undershirt, a black racerback tank top, revealing my pink lacy bandeau. Dez had asked me,

"Are you OK with us having…."

I said,

"Yeah. Let me just go grab a condom."

I grabbed a condom from my nightstand and continued making out with my boyfriend. In an hour, we were naked under my _Disney Princess_ throw. I stuck my hand under the blanket to search down there to see if I still had the condom. I did. Thank god. Dez and I were already having a baby, we sure as hell weren't ready for another one anytime soon.

"I love you,"

I whispered to my boyfriend.

He whispered,

"I love you, too. It seems like only yesterday I was at the hospital with my parents and Didi to see you when you were born. You would hold my finger and look at me with your big eyes."

"Well, why wouldn't I look at a gorgeous redhead like you?"

He laughed.

"I watched you sit up by yourself for the first time, I watched you learn to crawl, I watched you go on your tummy, I watched you take your first steps- I watched a big percentage of your milestones. I think my personal favorite was hearing you say Austin's name for the first time. You called him Aussin. It was just about the cutest thing I've ever heard in my life."

I smiled.

"Aww, you!"

My boyfriend kissed my cheek and he kissed my cheek.

"Dez, you're a better boyfriend than Kevin ever will be."

Dez smiled.

"Forget about that volatile numb-nuts. You deserve better than him."

I said,

"Oh, Dezzy, no one's arguing with that."

We laughed.

"Hey, you remember my best friend Summer?"

"Yeah. The fashionista. She kind of reminds me of Trish."

"Yeah, her. Anyway, she's having her quinceanera in a few months and she's allowing her guests to bring a date. Would you like to be mine?"

"What else are couples for?"

I said,

"I don't know why, but I'm craving pickles like crazy right now."

Dez joked,

"Has Ally rubbed off on you?"

Pickles were Ally's favorite snack. I had known that ever since I met her when I was five and she was fifteen. I remembered when I was six, Austin finally worked up the courage to tell her how he really felt about her. He asked her out by buying her the biggest pickle basket I had ever seen as a Valentine's Day present and he had presented it to her as if he were proposing to her. I remembered I had even added to the gift, too, by giving her a card with Belle from _Beauty and the beast_ on it.

Because ever since I met her, I always thought she looked like Belle. I had even told her that when I met her. I remember, I met her when my brother brought her over to hang out, and I had said,

"You look like Belle!"

She had gushed and cooed about how it was the cutest thing she had ever heard from a five-year-old girl. I don't know why, but I think I helped get them together. And now they were happily married! I had known when Austin helped Ally overcome her stage fright that they would be together, even when they both died. Maybe Dez and I would be the same.

We loved each other. But we couldn't get married because I had four more years until I was a legal adult. But I loved him. Love was stronger than anything in the world, right?

We were snuggling together under my blanket and I felt sleepy and ended up falling asleep in his arms. In an hour, I woke up. My boyfriend was staring at me.

"Dez, were you staring at me?"

I asked, attempting to stifle a giggle.

He giggled.

"Yes. Because you're so cute when you're sleeping."

I giggled.

"Awww, you're so cute."


	28. Chapter 28

**LEAH:**

During the my first and second trimester, my pregnancy was going great. Mom and Dad gave me the spare room in the house to use as a nursery and I was having a great time at my job at Hot Topic. Hot Topic had the coolest clothing and merchandise from Disney, _Star Wars_ (My brother and boyfriend were total _Star Wars_ nerds. Lots of times when I was younger, they would be watching it), Doctor Who and more. Dez and I decorated Lanessa's soon-to-be bedroom with really pretty furniture and we painted her room pink. I decided to give her some of my old stuffed animals and my Disney Princess blanket that I had had since my childhood. But I was keeping Panda.

He was my best friend, besides Summer, Amaya, Claire and Quinn. He was inanimate, but just like Big Bird with Snuffleupagus (who was kind of a frightening creature, but I'm not going to judge a character from a TV show from my childhood) from _Sesame Street_ , only I could hear him talk. Admittedly, he couldn't talk back, but I always pretended he did. I first got him for my first birthday in 2007 from my grandma and grandpa. He helped me through some of the worst times of my life.

Up until I was in first grade, I used to take him with me everywhere. Whenever I was upset, depressed or anxious about something, he was there for me. I even decided I might take him to college or on Dez's and my honeymoon. My boyfriend and I stood in our daughter's room.

"Our little princess is going to love it here."

My ginger-haired boyfriend put his arm around me.

"Yeah, she is."

I felt her kick again.

"Dez, she's kicking."

He put his hand on my stomach. My phone chimed. I was getting a FaceTime request from Austin.

Dez asked,

"Who is it?"

I said,

"It's my brother. He wants to FaceTime."

Dez said,

"Cool!"

I answered his FaceTime request.

Dez crowed,

"Hey, buddy!"

I said,

"Hey, brother!"

Austin smiled.

"Hey, guys! Leah, have you found out your baby's gender yet?"

I said,

"Yeah."

Austin seemed excited about this.

"Am I getting a niece or a nephew?"

I said,

"A niece! Her name is Lanessa Madeline Wade."

Austin smiled.

"I can't wait to meet her! Oh, and five months ago, Ally found out she was pregnant. We're having twins!"

I said,

"That's amazing! Am I going to have twin nieces, twin nephews or a niece and a nephew?"

Ally could obviously hear our conversation.

"Leah, you're going to have a niece and a nephew!"

I turned to my brother.

"Austin, we're going to need to set up lots of playdates with Lanessa and her cousins!"

I smiled at Ally.

"Now I have a buddy with me on the pregnancy train."

My sister-in-law had still had her "adorkable" personality. She crooned,

"All aboard, woot woot!"

and did a pump with her fists.

My brother joked,

"You're a dork. But you're my dork."

Ally playfully slapped him on his shoulder. He said,

"I said you were _my_ dork, not _a_ dork."

She laughed.

"I know."

I asked,

"Have you guys thought of any names for your babies?"

Ally smiled and patted her belly.

"The girl is Emma Harmony and the boy is Jack Alexander."

Dez pointed my phone toward my stomach and Austin pointed his toward Ally's stomach.

I said,

"Lanessa, those are your cousins. You all are going to have so much fun together playing."

Ally laughed. The next day, I felt extremely nauseous. I was twenty-seven weeks pregnant and I already felt sick to my stomach and dizzy walking to the bathroom to retch. Dez walked to the bathroom, only to find me vomiting.

"Sorry I woke you up, Dez,"

I croaked apologetically.

Dez said to me,

"I don't care about that. I came in to see if you were OK."

I said,

"I felt dizzy and sick to my stomach and I just gagged in the toilet."

He said,

"Your face also looks kind of puffy, Leah."

I could barely stand up and I suddenly fainted in Dez's arms. I woke up in the emergency room several hours later. My boyfriend was obviously concerned about me.

"You OK, baby?"

I said,

"I hope so. I also hope Lanessa's OK."

My parents walked in.

"Sweetie, what happened?"

My mom asked.

I said,

"Mom, I didn't know why, but this morning, I had a really bad headache, I was dizzy, my abdomen hurts, I threw up and I had to pee around six times last night."

My dad kissed my forehead.

"Sorry, princess."

I sighed.

"It's not your fault, Dad."

A female doctor walked in.

"Thank you for your paitence, everyone. I ran some tests, it seems that Leah, who is almost fifteen years old, has preeclampsia. She has a blood pressure of one hundred fifty six. There is protein in her urine."

She turned to me.

"You are twenty-seven weeks pregnant, correct?"

I said,

"Yes."

She turned to my parents.

"How's her diet?"

My dad said,

"Her diet is well-balanced on a daily basis. She meets her daily required nutrients."

"Does she use tobacco or any other drug or drink alcohol?"

My mom said,

"She was temporarily given medical marijuana, but aside from that, she uses no substances."

I piped in.

"Is there any medication you think I should try?"

The doctor looked at me.

"It's not just about your baby. You could develop epilepsy, you could get kidney or liver function, it could cause problems with your blood clotting, fluid in your lungs, seizures, or you and/or your baby could die."

When she said that, it went right to my heart. I just started crying.

My father and boyfriend went outside in the hall to talk with the doctor. My mom stayed back to comfort me. She hugged me and kissed my forehead.

"Mom, I'm scared. What if I die or if my baby dies?"

My mom hugged me.

"Leah, it may take a miracle, but I think you and your baby are going to live. Dez and your father are talking to the doctor right now."

That made me feel better. I wiped my eyes on the back of my hand and my boyfriend and father walked back in.

I asked the doctor,

"Do you have anything you reccomend I take?"

She said,

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. She must either deliver in the next ninety-six hours, or she can take Labelatol, Magnesium or Hydralazine by injection."

I said,

"I think the medication would work best for me. I don't feel like delivering until she's a little more mature and can survive independently."

The doctor said,

"That's perfectly reasonable. I also recommend that she drinks about five to eight glasses of water a day, and her nutrition requirements are the same."


	29. Chapter 29

**LEAH:**

Dez looked at his watch.

"Leah, as much as I hate to leave you right now, I have to go to work at the apple store."

I said,

"OK. I'll see you later, Dez."

He gently kissed my forehead.

"You poor thing."

He shook my dad's hand and hugged my mom. My dad picked me up like a bride and carried me down to the pharmacy so they could pick up my doses of Hydralazine pills. I was required to take it every three hours and then to wash it down with water. On the way to the parking lot, I asked my dad,

"Dad, will my medicine kill my baby?"

He looked at me sympathetically.

"Not if you take it in the right doses."

"Good. I want her to survive."

My mom looked at me from the passenger seat, leaned over and smoothed my hair.

"Sorry, princess."

I said,

"It's fine, Mom."

She turned to my dad.

"What did the doctor prescribe for her?"

My dad said,

"She gave her Hydralazine pills and she has to take them every three hours and wash them down with water. She also suggested five to eight glasses of water a day for her, and that she needs lots of rest."

My mom said,

"Sounds good. When I was pregnant with Austin, I had toxemia, too. Remember?"

I said,

"Mom, you got preeaclampsia, too?"

My mom said to me,

"Yes, Leah. I did. I had the same symptoms you did, and Nana had to fly over here from Chicago to help me. Thank god he survived."

I asked,

"Did you have it with me?"

My mom said,

"No. Nana said women typically got it during their first pregnancy."

When we came home, I got in my bed, and snuggled up in my blankets. My mom walked in with a small brown bag and handed me my old glass with Anna and Elsa from _Frozen_ on it. _Frozen_ was another one of my favorite Disney movies. She sat on my bed and I sat up. She opened the pill bottle and handed me two of the pills.

I took them together and I washed them down with water in my _Frozen_ cup.

"Sweetie, do you need anything else before I go downstairs?"

I said,

"Well, an extra blanket would be nice."

She went over to my closet and grabbed my black throw blanket with white polka dots.

"Thanks, mom."

"You're welcome, princess."

She smiled.

"Where's your Disney Princess blanket?"

I said,

"I gave it to Lanessa."

My mom smoothed my hair.

"I remember when you were about three, four, five years old and you loved Disney Princess. You were totally preoccupied with it."

I smiled.

"Oh, my childhood."

She held my head in her hands.

"My personal favorite was you in princess costumes and how you would wear them to Moon's Mattress Kingdom all the time. Our customers would just coo at you all the time."

I smiled.

"I love you, mom."

She said,

"I love you too, Leah."

I discovered I was getting sleepy. I stretched and yawned and fell asleep. When I woke up three hours later, my mom was sitting on my bed, the exact same spot before I fell asleep.

"Sweetie, I just wanted to let you know that I called the hospital and they want you to come back next week for another test."

"OK, Mom."

"I should also probaby refill your glass of water. It's time to take your meds."

She refilled it. I sat up and took my pills and washed them down with water. I filled my glass again with water and drank it. A few hours later, my boyfriend came over.

"Hi, blondie. How you feeling?"

"A little better. Thanks, babe."

We kissed. Dez was the best boyfriend ever. If I had been pregnant with Kevin's baby, he would have left me. If I had made the decision to give the baby up for adoption, I would have given her to Austin and Ally. It would have been perfect- Lanessa would grow up with her uncle and aunt raising her. And Austin and Ally were both emotionally mature enough and they obviously had the money to take care of her.

And my mom and dad had promised to help me out with her. After all, she was their granddaughter.


	30. Chapter 30

**LEAH:**

A week later, I had my doctor's appointment. I was even more nervous than the day we issued Kevin the restraining order. To paraphrase, I was jumping out of my skin with anxiety and nervousness. My boyfriend grabbed his car keys and asked me,

"Are you ready, girlfriend?"

I said in a sarcastic yet nervous kind of way,

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Dez drove me to the hospital. Dr. Velazquez came out. She said,

"Moon comma Leah Abigail."

I said,

"That's me."

I turned to my boyfriend.

"Can you come with me?"

Dez raised his hand.

"Excuse me, Doctor? May I go with her, I'm her boyfriend."

She said,

"Si puedes."

Dr. Velazquez took my temperature, height, weight and pulse. She asked me,

"Do you chew or smoke tobacco or use any other kind of drug?"

I said,

"Well, I was on medical marijuana for a short time after the last time I saw you."

She asked,

"Do you drink alcohol?"

I said,

"No."

She asked,

"How's your diet?"

I said,

"I eat all the good stuff daily."

She asked me,

"What seems to be the problem?"

I said,

"I'm a little over six months pregnant and I was diagnosed with toxemia last week."

She told me,

"Oh, that's not good. Have you been taking medication?"

I said,

"Yeah, Hydralazine."

"I'm very sorry, cariña. Espero que tú y su bebé va a estar bien."

I didn't understand enough spanish, not even from Summer, who spoke spanish with her mom and her mom's side of her family (they spoke english and spanish, but Summer still spoke spanish with Mrs. Alvarez and the rest of her maternal family), to comprehend what the nurse had

just said to me, but it sounded very sympathetic and caring, so I just said,

"Thank you."

"I'm sorry, I have to get back to work. But I hope you feel better."

"Thanks."

She hugged me and I hugged her back.

I was shaking to death, I was so anxious and my boyfriend noticed. He considerately offered to hold my hand. I squeezed his hand as if my hand was part python. The doctor that was supposed to see me, a very pretty blonde woman named Doctor Amy Kelly walked in.

"Hello, are you Leah Moon?"

She asked me politely.

I said,

"Yes, I am. Fourteen and pregnant."

Dez stood up.

"And I'm her boyfriend."

I said,

"I'm here because I have preeclampsia."

She said,

"Yes, your mother called me last week and informed me of that. Did you do anything to help treat it?"

I said,

"Yes. I took Hydralazine."

"I'm just going to check your blood pressure to see how it is."

"Hmmm, your blood pressure is one hundred and twenty-five. Have you experienced any nausea, dizziness, or swelling in hands, legs or feet?"

I said,

"Just headaches, nausea and dizziness. I threw up a little bit this week but aside from that, I think I'm getting better."

She asked me,

"That's good. Do you maintain a good diet and drink plenty of water?"

I said,

"Yes."

She dragged me into another room where they did ultrasounds, my boyfriend tagging along with us.

I said,

"Is she going to live?"

The doctor smiled.

"Yes, she is."

Dez piped in.

"Is she going to have any birth defects- like deafness, blindness or defective heart valves?"

"No. She will be fine."

I sighed in relief.

"Thank you, Doctor Kelly."

She smiled.

"You're most welcome, Ms. Moon."

Dez and I were so relieved that Lanessa was going to be OK. For the next three months, we bought her more essentials- pacifiers, toys and bottles. One day before she was due, I was also going to Summer's Quinceanera. I slid on the gown that she had given me a week before (she managed to find a maternity one) and a pair of silver sparkly high heels, silver diamond post earrings and a silver solitaire diamond pendant, as well as my blonde hair, that was normally straight, was in curls and a headband braid. Dez, of course, was coordinating with me.

I walked downstairs, my parents gushing at their daughter, also known as me.

My mom smiled.

"Sweetheart, you look beautiful."

I said,

"Thanks, Mom."

My dad put his arm around my mom.

"We have such a beautiful daughter."

My mom looked at him.

"Yes, Mike. We do."

Dez's face lit up in realization.

"Oh, that reminds me. I have a little something for my princess."

I laughed.

"Dez, you didn't have to do that."

He said,

"Have to? I wanted to!"

He reached into his pocket and grabbed a wrist corsage with pink roses and white baby's breath. I put it on my wrist. I said,

"Dez, I feel so bad. I didn't get you a boutonniere."

He said,

"Awww, babe! That's fine! I got myself one!"

I said,

"Well, you look very handsome."

He booped my nose.

"If I look handsome, you look beautiful."

My mom crooned,

"Get the camera, Mike!"

My dad took photos of my boyfriend and I and I clutched Summer's present, that was on the stairs and I was out the door. I was going to give her a one hundred dollar gift card to H&M (I knew my best friend extremely well. She loved fashion and art more than anything) and a frame that I had made myself for her with sixteen pictures of us and some of the greatest memories we'd shared together, and I had covered it with Disney Princess stickers (Summer got a lot of her inspiration for her outfits that she'd be designing one day from Disney Princesses).

The first one had us when we were three years old at our preschool Halloween parade, she was dressed like Dora from _Dora The Explorer_ and I was dressed like Aurora from _Sleeping Beauty_. The second one had us when we were four with our moms outside of the Cinderella castle at Disneyworld. The third one had us at the Bibbidi-Bobbidi-bootique- she was Snow White and I was Cinderella. The fourth one had us when we were four at our preschool field trip to see children's theater to see Musical fairytales (Snow White, Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty to be exact). The fifth one had us on our first day of Kindergarten (we both met with our backpacks on our fronts, mine being a light purple one with Aurora, Belle, Cinderella and Tiana on it and hers being a blue one with Cinderella on it.

The sixth one had us when we were seven and at the pumpkin patch. The seventh one had us when we were seven and at her first communion. The eighth one had us when we were nine at the father-daughter dance for fourth and fifth graders. The ninth one had us on our first day of middle school with Amaya, Claire and Quinn. The tenth one had us at our first middle school dance when we were in the sixth grade.

The eleventh one had us with Amaya, Claire and Quinn at a slumber party at my house. The twelfth one had us with our girlfriends at Claire's bat mitzvah twelfth birthday party. The thirteenth one was from the photo booth at our eighth grade dance with Claire, Quinn and Amaya. The fourteenth one was when we went to pick out new outfits at the mall for Austin and Ally's engagement party. The fifteenth one was a selfie with Trish, Jace, Austin, Ally, Dez and Carrie.

This party was going to be so awesome. I couldn't wait to watch my best friend go from a girl to a woman.

"Are you excited?"

asked my boyfriend as he was driving the car.

"Yeah,"

I said.

"I can't wait to see my best friend since preschool become a woman!"

Dez laughed.

"Thanks for inviting me to be your date."

I said,

"Do you think I'd invite Kevin to be my date? He even totally flaked on me when I asked him to be my date for Austin's wedding. Remember that?"

Dez said,

"Yeah. I felt bad for you, so I danced with you."

I said,

"And I had a fun time there, even though my boyfriend ditched me."

I smiled. Austin and Ally, finally getting married after nine years, was one of the happiest days of my life. I remembered I was crying at the slideshow of the baby pictures that my parents, Lester and Penny had all collaborated to put together. I was in the bridal party, got a gorgeous pink dress to wear, and every single one of our friends and family were there.


	31. Chapter 31

**LEAH:**

I walked in to see Amaya, Summer's sister Daniella, Claire, Quinn and most importantly, Summer, the birthday girl. I put the present down on the table next to apparently my other friends' presents and I bear hugged Amaya, Claire and Quinn tightly because I hadn't seen them since over the summer, and Daniella, because in a way, she was like my sister, too.

Amaya stared at my large belly. I laughed.

"It's OK, Amaya. I'm pregnant."

She asked,

"Really, who's the dad?"

I said,

"Please don't call me a slut, but the father is my brother Austin's childhood best friend."

She smiled.

"Well, I'm really happy for you."

Daniella smiled.

"Yeah, you're lucky to have a baby."

Claire tied her long, orange curly hair that reminded me a lot of Merida from _Brave_ into a high bun.

"Yeah. You're going to have a little bundle of joy."

I patted my belly.

"Her name is Lanessa."

Quinn looked confused.

"Isn't she going to think it's a little strange to be named after a medicine that treats insomnia?"

I laughed.

"That's Lunesta, Quinn."

Quinn said,

"Oh yeah."

Summer, clad in a light blue spa bathrobe, with her long chocolate brown hair in bun, said to us,

"Let's get this party started!"

She untied her robe, revealing a pink colored lacy bandea bra and a black lacy thong with white, blue, pink and red polka dots. I grabbed her light blue bejeweled strapless dress and zipped it up. Quinn put on her silver diamond drop earrings and Amaya put her diamond necklace on. Claire did her makeup, light blue eyeshadow, black mascara, black eyeliner and pink lipstick and lip gloss. I heard a knock.

Summer said,

"Come in."

It was Summer's mom, Mrs. Alvarez.

"Hi, girls,"

she said in her mexican accent, and smiling in a kind way. She was wearing gold hoop earrings, a yellow halter dress and yellow pumps and holding a pink box with a gold ribbon on it.

I smiled.

"Hi, Mrs. Alvarez,"

I said.

"Hola, Leah.

She turned to her daughter.

"Tengo un regalo para tú, chica del cumpleaños."

Summer smiled at her mom.

"What is it, Mom?"

She said,

"Open it and see. Your father and I thought it would be nice for you to wear on the big day you became an adult."

My best friend untied the ribbon and opened the box, gasping in awe.

"Mom, it's beautiful."

From the box, she lifted a silver diamond tiara with a butterfly and the number fifteen on it.

Mrs. Alvarez smiled.

"Every girl deserves to look beautiful on the day of her quinceanera."

She smiled at her mom.

"Muchas Gracias, Mami. Te quiero."

"Te quiero tambien, cariña."

They hugged and Mrs. Alvarez exited the room. I asked,

"Before you go out, you should open your presents from us."

Summer smiled.

"OK."

I handed her mine, which was wrapped in pink cheetah print wrapping paper, and the card was purple and had a french bulldog with a plate of cupcakes. She gasped in awe as she saw the card.

"Leah, you didn't!"

I said,

"Oh, but I did, Summer. You're my friend and I know what you like."

She smiled.

"You sure do!"

"Open the other thing."

She ripped off the cheetah print paper and saw a frame.

"Awww, muy preciosa!"

I smiled at her.

"Eres mi mejor amiga y te quiero."

"Te quiero, tambien."

I tightly embraced my best friend since childhood. Summer also opened a Cards Against Humanity game (Austin loved that game and I would play it with him, Ally and my parents when him and Ally would come over to have dinner with us) from Dani, a do-it-yourself lava lamp making kit from Amaya, a t-shirt with black sleeves and a black neckline and a pink galaxy front that said, _Trust me, I'm a unicorn_ in black letters from Claire and a white plush polar bear wearing a diamond tiara and carrying a pink heart from Quinn.


	32. Chapter 32

**LEAH:**

The DJ announced the court. Summer's whole family, maternal and paternal, were there. Her mom, Andrea Alvarez, was born and raised in Mexico City (where also her maternal grandparents, Jeronimo and Guadalupe Alvarez, lived) and was the youngest of three daughters. Her maternal aunt, Constance Alvarez-Contreras, was also married to a man named Gary Contreras with thirteen-year-old boy and girl twins named Enrique and Sofia, her other maternal aunt, Sandra Alvarez-Villanueva was married to a man named John Villanueva with four children- a twenty-five-year-old named Adriana, a twenty-two-year-old named Jesus (it was pronounced Hey-SEUSS), an eighteen-year-old named Richard, and a fourteen-year-old named Jasmine. Her dad's family, however, was extremely different.

Her dad, Glenn Evans, was born and raised in The Bronx, New York. He had his parents, Sherman and Bernadette Evans, and he was the second of four children, the oldest being her uncle Wilfred, then there was her dad Glenn, then there was her uncle Mark and the youngest being her Aunt Roxanne. Wilfred was married to a woman named Elaine, and they had an eighteen-year-old son Mikey and a fourteen-year-old son named Benjamin, Glenn was married to his a woman named Jessica and they had fifteen-year-old twins, Dylan and

Kinsley, Mark was married to a woman named Katie and they had three children- a twenty-eight-year-old named Angelica, a twenty-seven-year-old named Buster, a twenty-six-year-old named Eamon and a twenty-three-year-old named Meriam, and Roxanne was married to her husband Jerry, and they had seventeen-year-old twins named Luke and Lily. By the buffet, it was like Santa's workshop, it had so many presents. The DJ started playing a spanish love song called "Amor Mio" by Eiza Gonzalez.

I pulled up my boyfriend and we started to dance. That quinceanera was so amazing. Great food, infectious music, and my best friend entering adulthood. Leaving the party with my boyfriend, I suddenly felt water streaming down my legs, and my stomach started cramping. It was the most painful thing I had endured since I broke my wrist in Phys Ed playing volleyball in the seventh grade (I had to wear a cast for eight weeks).

"DEZ!"

I screamed.

He asked me,

"Are you OK?"

I said,

"I'M GOING INTO LABOUR! LANESSA IS COMING!"

Dez told me,

"OK, OK, stay calm, sweetie. I'll drive you to the hospital!"

I was exhaling and hyperventilating in pain as my contractions were making like Austin's song _Can you feel it_ and growing faster, stronger, harder. The hospital ride was only fifteen minutes and when we got there, my boyfriend carried me like a bride. It was a little bit innappropriate because my shorts that I was wearing under my dress were somewhat visible from my dress. He got me into a pink hospital gown and into a wheelchair and wheeled me into the delivery room. A team of nurses walked in.

"OK, you are ten centimeters dilated, we need to start pushing."

It was about ten o'clock when we got to the hospital. Three hours later, she was finally here. Our beautiful baby girl, Lanessa Madeline Wade, was finally here. I asked Dez,

"Where'd she go?"

Dez smiled reassuringly.

"They're just wrapping her up."

I said,

"I hope they're careful with her. She's very delicate."

Hours later, Dez's parents, Donna and Dennis Wade, walked in, Didi close by. Didi was her usually energetic self, and whispered,

"Hey, girl!"

I tightly hugged my boyfriend's sister.

"Hi, Didi!"

"I can't believe you're having a baby!"

I said,

"Me either."

Didi cooed,

"It seems like just yesterday you were a baby and I held you. It also just seems like yesterday when I was watching Dora The Explorer and Disney Princesses, playing Candyland and Chutes and Ladders with you and reading you bedtime stories."

"And letting me stay up past my bedtime. And having to bribe me with sweets not to tell my parents,"

I piped in.

She laughed.

"That too. But you were always good for me."

Like I had mentioned before, my parents often had Dez's sister Didi babysit me. Dez and Didi were fraternal twins, but Dez was the older twin. My parents often hired Didi to babysit me when I was a child.

Dez's parents, Donna and Dennis, both hugged me, too, as well as their son. Our daughter was asleep in the little box by my bed.

Donna asked me,

"Can we meet our granddaughter?"

Dez whispered,

"Sure, Mom."

He gently picked up the sleeping infant and she opened her eyes. A gorgeous blue, just like Dez. He handed her to her paternal grandmother.

"Hi, sweetie. I'm your grandmother. Your grandfather and I are going to spoil you until you get tooth decay."

She handed her to Dez's dad and he said,

"I can't wait to make you all sorts of cool toys."

Dennis handed her to Didi.

Didi smiled as she held the baby in her arms.

"I used to babysit your mommy when she was young, and I would spoil her rotten. I'll do the same thing to you because I'm your auntie."

Later, Dez's family had gone home, and in walked Austin and a very pregnant Ally. My brother and sister-in-law hugged their best friend. Dez handed Lanessa to her uncle.

Austin cooed,

"Hi, Lanessa. I'm your Uncle Austin. Your aunt Ally and I are going to spoil you to death."

He handed her to his pregnant wife.

"Hi, Lanessa. In my belly are your two cousins, Jack and Emma, who are coming very soon. They're very excited to meet you."

In walked my parents. My dad held his granddaughter in his arms and smiled at her.

"Mimi,"

he looked at my Mom.

"I think we have a new princess for Moon's Mattress Kingdom."

My mom smiled with tears in her eyes.

"I think we do. We already have a prince and princess, so we can do for three more."

My mom looked at her daughter-in-law's belly.

"There are my two other grandkids in the oven. How many months are you, Ally?"

My sister-in-law smiled at my mom.

"Seven. Mimi, are you excited to have grandkids?"

She smiled.

"Does it make me old?"

Ally gave her a look.

"Don't worry, Mimi. You nor Mike are old."

She said,

"That's good."

My parents kissed. My parents met when my dad was Austin's age, and my mom was nineteen, they got married six months after they started dating and my mom conceived Austin when she was twenty-two and my dad was twenty-seven and I was born when my mom was thirty-two and my dad was thirty-seven. My mom was forty-six and my dad was fifty-one.

My mom smiled.

"This really takes me back to when both of our children were born, Mike."

My dad smiled at his wife.

"Me too."

Austin whispered to me,

"She looks a bit like you, sis."

Ally, patting her belly, piped in,

"The apple doesn't fall from the tree. Leah is beautiful and so is Lanessa."

I smiled.

"Aww, you're very sweet, Ally."

 **THREE MONTHS LATER**

Austin and Ally had come to visit with their twins, my niece and nephew, Jack and Emma. Austin holding Emma, Ally holding Jack. Ally cooed,

"Hi, we're here for the cousins' playdate!"

Ally put little Jack on the couch, Austin put little Emma on the couch and I put Lanessa besides her cousins. They all were just gawking at each other. My sister-in-law looked at my brother and I.

"Look, they already love each other!"

He got a snapshot of the three babies. Just about the cutest thing I'd ever seen in my life.

 **THE END**


End file.
